Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 417 Shares of Unifirst Corporation $UNF

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,871 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.10% of Unifirst worth $3,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Unifirst by 59.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Unifirst by 88.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 266 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in shares of Unifirst during the first quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unifirst in the fourth quarter worth approximately $104,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Unifirst in the fourth quarter worth approximately $149,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UNF. Barclays set a $152.00 price objective on Unifirst and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Unifirst in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $175.00 target price for the company. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Unifirst from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 price target on shares of Unifirst in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unifirst presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $179.50.

Unifirst Trading Up 2.3%

UNF opened at $178.7190 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.96 and a beta of 0.85. Unifirst Corporation has a 12-month low of $156.34 and a 12-month high of $243.70. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $176.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.56.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 2nd. The textile maker reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.04. Unifirst had a return on equity of 7.35% and a net margin of 6.18%.The firm had revenue of $610.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Unifirst has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.600-8.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Unifirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Unifirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.20%.

Unifirst Company Profile

UniFirst Corporation provides workplace uniforms and protective work wear clothing in the United States, Europe, and Canada. The company operates through U.S. and Canadian Rental and Cleaning, Manufacturing, Specialty Garments Rental and Cleaning, and First Aid segments. It designs, manufactures, personalizes, rents, cleans, delivers, and sells a range of uniforms and protective clothing, including shirts, pants, jackets, coveralls, lab coats, smocks, and aprons; and specialized protective wear, such as flame resistant and high visibility garments.