JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its position in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 56.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,708 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 86,893 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.36% of UniFirst worth $10,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of UniFirst by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,204 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in UniFirst by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 4,359 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in UniFirst by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,027 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $758,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 0.5% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 17,990 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,008,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 75.2% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 268 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

UniFirst Trading Down 1.0%

UNF stock opened at $248.94 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $236.09 and a 200-day moving average of $195.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.93 and a beta of 0.69. UniFirst Corporation has a 12 month low of $147.66 and a 12 month high of $283.77.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted 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 return on equity of 6.68% and a net margin of 5.70%.The firm had revenue of $621.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $615.23 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $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. Sell-side analysts predict that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.31%.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.54, for a total transaction of $347,758.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,461 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,745.94. The trade was a 18.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

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).