Moran Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stake in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Moran Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 47.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,865 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 9,777 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $2,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UNF. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 474.1% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in UniFirst by 378.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 153 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 1,244.0% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 336 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UNF. Weiss Ratings raised shares of UniFirst from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $228.25.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNF opened at $273.65 on Monday. UniFirst Corporation has a 1-year low of $147.66 and a 1-year high of $283.77. The business’s 50 day moving average is $263.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $241.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.16 and a beta of 0.63.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 1st. The textile maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.84). The company had revenue of $634.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $627.66 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 6.44%. UniFirst’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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).