Bank of New York Mellon Corp Trims Stock Holdings in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its holdings in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 112,872 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 2,640 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $28,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its position in UniFirst by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 865,014 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $166,861,000 after acquiring an additional 75,524 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in UniFirst by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,418 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $151,895,000 after buying an additional 14,751 shares during the period. Engine Capital Management LP grew its stake in UniFirst by 640.5% in the 4th quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 459,871 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $88,709,000 after acquiring an additional 397,772 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in UniFirst by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 451,194 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $87,035,000 after acquiring an additional 143,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 164.2% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 367,786 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $70,946,000 after acquiring an additional 228,586 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNF. UBS Group set a $262.00 price target on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings cut UniFirst from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $246.67.

UniFirst Stock Up 0.9%

UniFirst stock opened at $296.99 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $271.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $251.77. The firm has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.84 and a beta of 0.63. UniFirst Corporation has a twelve month low of $147.66 and a twelve month high of $298.31.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The textile maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.84). UniFirst had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 6.44%. The company had revenue of $634.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $627.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is 23.03%.

UniFirst Profile

UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) is a leading provider of customized uniform rental and facility service programs in North America and Europe. The company specializes in the rental, laundering and maintenance of workwear, corporate apparel and protective garments for a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, automotive, hospitality, healthcare and food processing. UniFirst also offers a suite of facility service products such as entrance mats, restroom supplies, wipers, mops and hygienic services designed to help customers maintain clean and safe environments.

In addition to its core uniform rental business, UniFirst has expanded its product portfolio to include safety and first-responder gear, flame-resistant clothing, high-visibility apparel and personal protective equipment (PPE).