Unifirst Corporation $UNF Holdings Lifted by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 14.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,435 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 7,265 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.32% of Unifirst worth $9,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Unifirst by 285.7% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 135 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Unifirst during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unifirst by 474.1% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Unifirst by 378.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 153 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in Unifirst in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on UNF shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of 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 objective on shares of Unifirst in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on Unifirst from $182.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Unifirst from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $181.00.

Unifirst Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $239.14 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.63 and a beta of 0.72. Unifirst Corporation has a 1-year low of $147.66 and a 1-year high of $241.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $201.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.81.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The textile maker reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $621.32 million for 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%. Unifirst’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. Unifirst has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.580-6.980 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Unifirst Corporation 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Unifirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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).