Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the six research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $181.00.

UNF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Unifirst from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 target price on Unifirst in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Unifirst from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Unifirst from $182.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unifirst

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in Unifirst by 181.2% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 21,311 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $3,563,000 after purchasing an additional 13,732 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Unifirst by 93.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 20,507 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,429,000 after buying an additional 9,881 shares in the last quarter. Engine Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Unifirst during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,688,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unifirst by 118.1% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,830 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,038,000 after acquiring an additional 5,864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Unifirst in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,947,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Unifirst Stock Down 0.6%

UNF stock opened at $200.07 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46 and a beta of 0.72. Unifirst has a twelve month low of $147.66 and a twelve month high of $222.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $195.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.56.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The textile maker reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $621.32 million during 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period 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 research analysts anticipate that Unifirst will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unifirst Dividend Announcement

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