Brokerages Anticipate UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Will Post Quarterly Sales of $500.56 Million

Analysts expect that UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF – Get Rating) will post $500.56 million in sales for the current quarter, according to Zacks. Two analysts have provided estimates for UniFirst’s earnings, with the highest sales estimate coming in at $501.11 million and the lowest estimate coming in at $500.00 million. UniFirst posted sales of $464.32 million during the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year over year growth rate of 7.8%. The business is scheduled to report its next quarterly earnings report on Monday, January 1st.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that UniFirst will report full year sales of $1.97 billion for the current year. For the next financial year, analysts forecast that the business will report sales of $2.07 billion, with estimates ranging from $2.07 billion to $2.08 billion. Zacks’ sales calculations are an average based on a survey of research firms that cover UniFirst.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 30th. The textile maker reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $486.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $481.09 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.36% and a net margin of 6.77%. UniFirst’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.71 earnings per share.

Several brokerages have commented on UNF. Robert W. Baird raised UniFirst from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 6th. TheStreet cut shares of UniFirst from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 27th. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded UniFirst from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on UniFirst in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UniFirst presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aurora Investment Counsel boosted its stake in UniFirst by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 6,337 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace North America L.P. increased its holdings in UniFirst by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Marshall Wace North America L.P. now owns 473 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in UniFirst by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 6,070 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,277,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in UniFirst by 90.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 154 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Family Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Oak Family Advisors LLC now owns 1,892 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UNF opened at $171.93 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 25.40 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $178.71 and a 200-day moving average of $194.29. UniFirst has a 52 week low of $165.52 and a 52 week high of $242.79.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 8th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 7th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.73%.

About UniFirst (Get Rating)

UniFirst Corp. engages in the design, manufacture, personalization, rental, cleaning, delivery, and sale of a range of uniforms and protective clothing. It operates through following segments: U.S. Rental and Cleaning, Canadian Rental and Cleaning, Manufacturing, Specialty Garments Rental and Cleaning, First Aid, and Corporate.

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