Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Stock Position in Unifirst Corporation $UNF

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 94.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,390 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,367 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Unifirst were worth $4,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Unifirst by 4.0% in the first quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Pullen Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Unifirst by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 7,426 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Unifirst by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,027 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Unifirst by 22.6% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 450 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Unifirst by 285.7% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 135 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Unifirst Price Performance

UNF stock opened at $170.16 on Friday. Unifirst Corporation has a 1-year low of $147.66 and a 1-year high of $243.70. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.08.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.13. Unifirst had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 7.11%. The firm had revenue of $614.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $607.02 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Unifirst has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.580-6.980 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unifirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This is an increase from Unifirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Unifirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on UNF. Barclays decreased their price objective on Unifirst from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group set a $182.00 price target on shares of Unifirst in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Unifirst from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Unifirst presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $174.75.

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).