EntryPoint Capital LLC Acquires New Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,508 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in UniFirst by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,708,242 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $292,263,000 after purchasing an additional 6,393 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UniFirst by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $62,456,000 after acquiring an additional 32,860 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 349,298 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $69,401,000 after acquiring an additional 4,136 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 237,308 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $40,601,000 after acquiring an additional 7,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 189,235 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $32,376,000 after acquiring an additional 16,022 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on UNF. StockNews.com downgraded UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of UniFirst from $235.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th.

UniFirst Stock Up 2.0 %

NYSE:UNF traded up $3.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $178.88. 80,803 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 98,066. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.78 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $198.63. UniFirst Co. has a 52 week low of $149.58 and a 52 week high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 2nd. The textile maker reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $602.81 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total transaction of $274,024.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. This represents a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UniFirst Company Profile

UniFirst Corporation provides workplace uniforms and protective work wear clothing in the United States, Europe, and Canada. The company operates through U.S. and Canadian Rental and Cleaning, Manufacturing, Specialty Garments Rental and Cleaning, and First Aid segments. It designs, manufactures, personalizes, rents, cleans, delivers, and sells a range of uniforms and protective clothing, including shirts, pants, jackets, coveralls, lab coats, smocks, and aprons; and specialized protective wear, such as flame resistant and high visibility garments.