Chilton Investment Co. Inc. Purchases 4,350 Shares of UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Chilton Investment Co. Inc. grew its position in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,750 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,350 shares during the period. Chilton Investment Co. Inc.’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $3,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in UniFirst during the third quarter worth about $1,597,000. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 181.2% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 21,311 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $3,563,000 after acquiring an additional 13,732 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the third quarter worth about $18,177,000. Vest Financial LLC raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 93.0% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 20,507 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $3,429,000 after purchasing an additional 9,881 shares during the period. Finally, Engine Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the second quarter worth about $11,688,000. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were 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 owned 6,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,745.94. This trade represents a 18.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Performance

NYSE:UNF opened at $273.29 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $224.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $189.37. UniFirst Corporation has a 52-week low of $147.66 and a 52-week high of $283.77. The company has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of 36.15 and a beta of 0.69.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The textile maker reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. UniFirst has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.580-6.980 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is currently 19.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNF. Zacks Research upgraded UniFirst from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of UniFirst from $182.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 price target on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of UniFirst in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $214.75.

UniFirst 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).