UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Releases FY24 Earnings Guidance

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $6.80-7.16 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.51. The company issued revenue guidance of $2.415-2.425 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.42 billion. UniFirst also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 6.800-7.160 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNF. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of UniFirst in a report on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of UniFirst from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, March 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $177.75.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $173.43 on Friday. UniFirst has a 52-week low of $150.50 and a 52-week high of $187.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $170.19 and a 200 day moving average of $170.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 28.38 and a beta of 0.82.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 3rd. The textile maker reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.20. UniFirst had a net margin of 4.92% and a return on equity of 6.19%. The company had revenue of $593.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $589.64 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that UniFirst will post 6.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. UniFirst’s payout ratio is 21.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 2,282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.27, for a total transaction of $399,966.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,034 shares in the company, valued at $707,039.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 242.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 346,190 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $66,811,000 after purchasing an additional 245,102 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth about $27,552,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth about $26,359,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 484,859 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $93,573,000 after purchasing an additional 61,624 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 16.8% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 232,649 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $42,873,000 after purchasing an additional 33,532 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.