Unifirst Corporation $UNF Stake Lifted by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 11.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,109 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Unifirst worth $2,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Unifirst by 3.0% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 608,245 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $105,835,000 after purchasing an additional 17,530 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Unifirst by 85,558.5% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 307,514 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $53,507,000 after acquiring an additional 307,155 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Unifirst by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 264,345 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $45,996,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Unifirst by 353.8% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 171,346 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $29,815,000 after acquiring an additional 133,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voss Capital LP purchased a new stake in Unifirst in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,529,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unifirst Price Performance

NYSE UNF opened at $170.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average is $174.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.89. Unifirst Corporation has a 52-week low of $156.34 and a 52-week high of $243.70.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 2nd. The textile maker reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.04. Unifirst had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 7.35%. The company had revenue of $610.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.50 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. The business’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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unifirst Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Unifirst

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.