Tweedy Browne Co LLC Purchases New Shares in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Tweedy Browne Co LLC acquired a new stake in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 102,059 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $19,687,000. UniFirst accounts for approximately 1.6% of Tweedy Browne Co LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in UniFirst by 1.3% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 772,667 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $129,181,000 after purchasing an additional 9,576 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in UniFirst by 60.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 307,341 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $51,384,000 after purchasing an additional 115,802 shares during the period. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC grew its holdings in UniFirst by 20.3% in the third quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 214,107 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $35,797,000 after purchasing an additional 36,179 shares during the period. Topline Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in UniFirst by 64.1% in the third quarter. Topline Capital Management LLC now owns 122,381 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $20,461,000 after purchasing an additional 47,819 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in UniFirst by 16.4% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 122,213 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $20,433,000 after purchasing an additional 17,208 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on UNF shares. Barclays lifted their target price 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 price target on UniFirst in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $228.25.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $249.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a PE ratio of 33.85 and a beta of 0.63. 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 price is $255.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.93.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The textile maker reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $622.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.91 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 5.49%.The business’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.365 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. UniFirst’s payout ratio is presently 19.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.54, for a total transaction of $347,758.56. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,745.94. The trade was a 18.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Company 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).