Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $271.35 and last traded at $268.12, with a volume of 555096 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $231.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 target price on shares of Unifirst in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Unifirst from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Unifirst from $182.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Unifirst from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $207.25.

Unifirst Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $216.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.06.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The textile maker reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.16). Unifirst had a net margin of 5.70% and a return on equity of 6.68%. The firm had revenue of $621.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $615.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Unifirst has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.580-6.980 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unifirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Unifirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.31%.

Insider Transactions at Unifirst

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.54, for a total transaction of $347,758.56. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,745.94. This represents a 18.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Unifirst

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Unifirst by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,876 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,326,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Unifirst by 5.5% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,204 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in Unifirst by 1.7% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 4,359 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Unifirst by 2.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,027 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 worth $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 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).