Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a strong sell rating to a hold rating. The stock had previously closed at $170.16, but opened at $213.22. Unifirst shares last traded at $193.2350, with a volume of 188,995 shares traded.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on UNF. UBS Group set a $182.00 price target on Unifirst in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Unifirst from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $174.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unifirst

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Unifirst in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Unifirst by 285.7% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 135 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Unifirst by 378.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 153 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Unifirst by 474.1% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Unifirst during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unifirst Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.10.

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

Unifirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.365 per share. This is a boost from Unifirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Unifirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.30%.

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).