Head-To-Head Contrast: UniFirst (UNF) & Its Peers

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) is one of 354 public companies in the “Commercial Services & Supplies” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare UniFirst to similar companies based on the strength of its earnings, risk, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Risk and Volatility

UniFirst has a beta of 0.65, indicating that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, UniFirst’s peers have a beta of 2.50, indicating that their average share price is 150% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.2% of UniFirst shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.5% of shares of all “Commercial Services & Supplies” companies are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of UniFirst shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 17.4% of shares of all “Commercial Services & Supplies” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares UniFirst and its peers revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
UniFirst	$2.52 billion	$109.49 million	39.96
UniFirst Competitors	$2.46 billion	$140.58 million	4.24

UniFirst has higher revenue, but lower earnings than its peers. UniFirst is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for UniFirst and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
UniFirst	0	3	0	1	2.50
UniFirst Competitors	1911	6252	9042	665	2.47

UniFirst presently has a consensus target price of $246.67, suggesting a potential upside of 2.72%. As a group, “Commercial Services & Supplies” companies have a potential upside of 10.14%. Given UniFirst’s peers higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe UniFirst has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Profitability

This table compares UniFirst and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
UniFirst	4.34%	6.65%	5.19%
UniFirst Competitors	-49.89%	-119.08%	-1.28%

Dividends

UniFirst pays an annual dividend of $1.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. UniFirst pays out 25.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Commercial Services & Supplies” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.5% and pay out 67.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. UniFirst has raised its dividend for 7 consecutive years.

Summary

UniFirst beats its peers on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

About UniFirst

UniFirst Corporation provides uniform rental and workplace services to businesses across a range of industries. Its programs include workwear selection, laundering, inspection, repair, and scheduled delivery, as well as sales of uniforms and related apparel. The company also supplies facility services such as floor mats, towels, restroom products, and first aid and safety supplies. Through specialized operations, UniFirst provides cleanroom garments and related services for businesses that require controlled environments.