London Co. of Virginia Sells 60,106 Shares of UniFirst Corporation $UNF

London Co. of Virginia cut its holdings in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 7.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 775,264 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 60,106 shares during the quarter. London Co. of Virginia’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $195,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the 1st quarter valued at $277,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in UniFirst in the first quarter valued at about $868,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in UniFirst in the first quarter valued at about $3,805,000. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in UniFirst in the first quarter valued at approximately $15,161,000. Finally, Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 119.1% in the 1st quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 55,921 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $14,069,000 after purchasing an additional 30,402 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $293.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.35 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $270.65 and its 200 day moving average is $250.74. UniFirst Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $147.66 and a fifty-two week high of $295.60.

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

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued 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 is Friday, September 4th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.03%.

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).