Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) have earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $207.25.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on UNF shares. Barclays raised shares of Unifirst from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $250.00 in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 price target on shares of Unifirst in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Unifirst from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Unifirst from $182.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unifirst 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 6,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,745.94. The trade was a 18.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Unifirst

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

Unifirst Stock Performance

Shares of UNF opened at $260.16 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $216.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.22. Unifirst has a 52-week low of $147.66 and a 52-week high of $271.35. The company has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41 and a beta of 0.69.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The textile maker reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.16). Unifirst had a return on equity of 6.68% and a net margin of 5.70%.The business had revenue of $621.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $615.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. Unifirst’s revenue for the quarter 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, research analysts predict that Unifirst will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unifirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Unifirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.31%.

Unifirst Company 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).