London Co. of Virginia Reduces Stake in Unifirst Corporation $UNF

London Co. of Virginia cut its holdings in shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 3.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 947,077 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 33,033 shares during the quarter. London Co. of Virginia owned 5.11% of Unifirst worth $178,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in UNF. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Unifirst by 285.7% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 135 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Unifirst during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Unifirst by 474.1% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Unifirst by 378.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 153 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Unifirst in the 1st quarter valued at about $70,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unifirst Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE UNF opened at $179.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.46 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.68. Unifirst Corporation has a 52-week low of $147.66 and a 52-week high of $243.70.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.13. Unifirst had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 7.11%. The firm had revenue of $614.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $607.02 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. Unifirst’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Unifirst has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.580-6.980 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unifirst Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.365 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This is a positive change from Unifirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Unifirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on UNF. UBS Group set a $182.00 target price on Unifirst in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research lowered Unifirst from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Unifirst from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $174.75.

About Unifirst

UniFirst Corporation provides workplace uniforms and protective work wear clothing in the United States, Europe, and Canada. The company operates through U.S. and Canadian Rental and Cleaning, Manufacturing, Specialty Garments Rental and Cleaning, and First Aid segments. It designs, manufactures, personalizes, rents, cleans, delivers, and sells a range of uniforms and protective clothing, including shirts, pants, jackets, coveralls, lab coats, smocks, and aprons; and specialized protective wear, such as flame resistant and high visibility garments.