Sei Investments Co. Cuts Stock Holdings in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Sei Investments Co. lowered its position in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 15.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,943 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 2,738 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $3,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

UniFirst Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of UNF stock opened at $289.56 on Friday. UniFirst Corporation has a 12-month low of $147.66 and a 12-month high of $306.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.67 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $275.88 and its 200 day moving average is $256.86.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.84). The company had revenue of $634.40 million for 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 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, equities analysts predict that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be given 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 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).