Empyrean Capital Partners LP Purchases New Stake in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Empyrean Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 81,000 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $20,379,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 865,014 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $166,861,000 after acquiring an additional 75,524 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,418 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $151,895,000 after acquiring an additional 14,751 shares in the last quarter. Engine Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 640.5% during the 4th quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 459,871 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $88,709,000 after acquiring an additional 397,772 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in UniFirst by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 451,194 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $87,035,000 after purchasing an additional 143,853 shares during the period. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its position in UniFirst by 164.2% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 367,786 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $70,946,000 after purchasing an additional 228,586 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

UniFirst Stock Up 0.9%

UNF opened at $296.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.84 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $271.27 and its 200-day moving average is $251.77. UniFirst Corporation has a 52-week low of $147.66 and a 52-week high of $298.31.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The textile maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.84). The firm 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%. UniFirst’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. UniFirst’s payout ratio is currently 23.03%.

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).