Insider Selling: Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) VP Sells 1,464 Shares of Stock

Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.54, for a total value of $347,758.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,745.94. The trade was a 18.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Unifirst Stock Performance

UNF stock traded up $1.23 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $239.50. 40,702 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 205,186. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.29. Unifirst Corporation has a 12 month low of $147.66 and a 12 month high of $241.32. The company has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.68 and a beta of 0.73.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The textile maker reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $621.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $615.23 million. Unifirst had a return on equity of 6.68% and a net margin of 5.70%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior 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, research analysts forecast that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Unifirst Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,876 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Unifirst by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,204 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Pullen Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Unifirst by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 7,426 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 4,359 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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).