TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 108,720 Unifirst Corporation $UNF

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 108,720 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $18,177,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Unifirst in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Unifirst by 285.7% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 135 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Unifirst by 474.1% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in Unifirst in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on UNF shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Unifirst from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Unifirst from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 price objective on Unifirst in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Unifirst from $182.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $181.00.

Unifirst Price Performance

NYSE UNF opened at $239.14 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.63 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $200.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.33. Unifirst Corporation has a 12 month low of $147.66 and a 12 month high of $241.32.

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

Unifirst Dividend Announcement

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

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).