UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The textile maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.84), FiscalAI reports. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 5.49%.The business had revenue of $634.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $627.66 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. UniFirst’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.

UniFirst Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $266.74 on Thursday. UniFirst has a twelve month low of $147.66 and a twelve month high of $283.77. The company has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of 36.14 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s 50 day moving average is $262.55 and its 200 day moving average is $240.13.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is 19.78%.

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 2.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,027 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,238 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 0.5% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 17,990 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,008,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in UniFirst by 378.1% during the 2nd 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, 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. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of UniFirst from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UniFirst has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.25.

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).