20,162 Shares in UniFirst Corporation $UNF Bought by Jupiter Topco LLC

Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 20,162 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $5,336,000. Jupiter Topco LLC owned approximately 0.11% of UniFirst at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in UniFirst by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,152 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $4,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in UniFirst by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,069 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $882,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in UniFirst by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,966 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,560,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in UniFirst by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 105,331 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $18,328,000 after acquiring an additional 28,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 34,914 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $6,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UniFirst Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE UNF opened at $276.78 on Tuesday. UniFirst Corporation has a 12-month low of $147.66 and a 12-month high of $306.67. The company has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.66 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $283.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.39.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued 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 return on equity of 6.44% and a net margin of 4.65%.The company had revenue of $634.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $627.66 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. UniFirst’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.365 per share. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is presently 23.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UNF. UBS Group set a $262.00 price objective on UniFirst in a report 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, UniFirst has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $246.67.

About UniFirst

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).