Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $181.00.

Several equities research analysts have commented on UNF shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 target price on shares of Unifirst in a report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Unifirst from $182.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Unifirst from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Unifirst from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd.

Institutional Trading of Unifirst

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNF. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unifirst during the 4th quarter worth approximately $99,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 7,115 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,373,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Unifirst by 82.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,490 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,638,000 after buying an additional 3,840 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Unifirst during the fourth quarter worth $4,764,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co. grew its holdings in Unifirst by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 1,734 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unifirst Trading Up 5.0%

Shares of UNF stock opened at $212.06 on Friday. Unifirst has a 12-month low of $147.66 and a 12-month high of $232.14. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $180.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.87. The company has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.05 and a beta of 0.72.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The textile maker reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $621.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $615.23 million. Unifirst had a net margin of 5.70% and a return on equity of 6.68%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. Unifirst has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.580-6.980 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Unifirst will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Unifirst Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Unifirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.31%.

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).