Unifirst Corporation $UNF Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 1.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,667,319 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 24,099 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of Unifirst worth $278,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNF. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Unifirst in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Unifirst by 285.7% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 135 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Unifirst by 378.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 153 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Unifirst by 474.1% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unifirst during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Unifirst Price Performance

Unifirst stock opened at $234.79 on Friday. Unifirst Corporation has a 12 month low of $147.66 and a 12 month high of $243.45. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $212.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.72. The company has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.06 and a beta of 0.73.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $615.23 million. Unifirst had a net margin of 5.70% and a return on equity of 6.68%. The company’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 earned $2.31 EPS. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.365 per share. 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unifirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of Unifirst stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,745.94. The trade was a 18.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UNF. Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 price objective on Unifirst in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Unifirst from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target 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, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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).