Unifirst Corporation $UNF Stock Holdings Boosted by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,934 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.29% of Unifirst worth $9,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Unifirst by 85,558.5% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 307,514 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $53,507,000 after acquiring an additional 307,155 shares during the period. Voss Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Unifirst during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,529,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unifirst by 353.8% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 171,346 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $29,815,000 after purchasing an additional 133,588 shares during the last quarter. Clearline Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Unifirst in the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,219,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Unifirst during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,081,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Unifirst Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $177.29 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $162.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.89. The company has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22 and a beta of 0.81. Unifirst Corporation has a 12-month low of $147.66 and a 12-month high of $243.70.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $614.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $607.02 million. Unifirst had a return on equity of 7.11% and a net margin of 6.10%.Unifirst’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Unifirst has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.580-6.980 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Unifirst Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Unifirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Unifirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Unifirst from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group set a $182.00 target price on Unifirst in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Unifirst from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $174.75.

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.