Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) has received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $181.00.

UNF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Unifirst from $182.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on Unifirst from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Unifirst from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 price objective on Unifirst in a research report on Thursday, January 8th.

Unifirst Stock Performance

Shares of UNF stock opened at $202.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85 and a beta of 0.73. Unifirst has a one year low of $147.66 and a one year high of $227.32. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $194.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.97.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted 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 net margin of 5.70% and a return on equity of 6.68%. The company had revenue of $621.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $615.23 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Unifirst has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.580-6.980 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Unifirst will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Unifirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Unifirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unifirst

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tweedy Browne Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unifirst in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $19,687,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 13,590 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,622,000 after buying an additional 1,412 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. acquired a new position in Unifirst during the fourth quarter valued at $4,923,000. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in Unifirst by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 31,785 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $6,131,000 after acquiring an additional 11,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in Unifirst during the 4th quarter worth about $260,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

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).