AlphaQuest LLC Increases Position in Unifirst Corporation $UNF

AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 181.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,311 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,732 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Unifirst were worth $3,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Unifirst during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,684,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Unifirst by 90.0% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 191,539 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $36,051,000 after acquiring an additional 90,751 shares in the last quarter. Engine Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Unifirst in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,688,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Unifirst by 85.4% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 105,005 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $19,764,000 after purchasing an additional 48,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unifirst by 1,492.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 49,571 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $9,330,000 after purchasing an additional 46,458 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on UNF. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Unifirst from $182.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded Unifirst from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 price target on Unifirst in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Unifirst from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $181.00.

Unifirst Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Unifirst stock opened at $210.00 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $190.91 and a 200 day moving average of $176.11. Unifirst Corporation has a 52 week low of $147.66 and a 52 week high of $227.32. The company has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 27.78 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Unifirst Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Unifirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.31%.

Unifirst 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).