UniFirst (UNF) & Its Rivals Head to Head Analysis

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

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares UniFirst and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share 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 competitors. UniFirst is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares UniFirst and its competitors’ 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%

Risk & Volatility

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for UniFirst and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	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 competitors higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe UniFirst has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

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.

Insider & 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 large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

UniFirst beats its competitors 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.