3,355 Shares in UniFirst Corporation $UNF Acquired by Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC

Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,355 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $887,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Man Group plc acquired a new stake in UniFirst during the 2nd quarter worth $6,794,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in UniFirst in the second quarter valued at about $3,505,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the second quarter worth about $5,336,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the second quarter worth about $609,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the second quarter worth about $264,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

UniFirst Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:UNF opened at $288.23 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $281.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $264.29. UniFirst Corporation has a twelve month low of $147.66 and a twelve month high of $306.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.46 and a beta of 0.63.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 1st. The textile maker reported $1.09 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 firm had revenue of $634.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $627.66 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.365 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend 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).