UniFirst Corporation $UNF Shares Sold by Copeland Capital Management LLC

Copeland Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 71.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 85,106 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 210,275 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $21,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNF. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 7.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 92,841 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $23,358,000 after acquiring an additional 6,352 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 11,454.2% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 20,682 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $5,203,000 after purchasing an additional 20,503 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 1st quarter valued at $887,000. Burney Co. boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 1.0% during the first quarter. Burney Co. now owns 4,329 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,089,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abel Hall LLC acquired a new stake in UniFirst during the first quarter valued at $215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UNF. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of 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 price target on UniFirst in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $246.67.

UniFirst Stock Performance

NYSE:UNF opened at $291.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 45.99 and a beta of 0.63. UniFirst Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $147.66 and a fifty-two week high of $295.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $267.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $247.36.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The textile maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.84). The company had revenue of $634.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $627.66 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 6.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Research analysts forecast 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 issued a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is presently 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).