28,020 Shares in UniFirst Corporation $UNF Bought by Confluence Investment Management LLC

Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 28,020 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $5,405,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 7.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,152 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $4,724,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in UniFirst by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,069 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in UniFirst by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,966 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 37.3% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 105,331 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $18,328,000 after purchasing an additional 28,589 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 34,914 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $6,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Performance

NYSE UNF opened at $260.55 on Friday. UniFirst Corporation has a 52-week low of $147.66 and a 52-week high of $283.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $230.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $192.43. The company has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46 and a beta of 0.69.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The textile maker reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $615.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. The firm’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. As a group, analysts forecast that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.365 per share. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is 19.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNF. UBS Group increased their price objective 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 restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of UniFirst in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 price target on UniFirst in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research upgraded UniFirst from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $214.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.54, for a total value of $347,758.56. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,745.94. This trade represents a 18.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

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).