Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $692,000 Stock Position in Unifirst Corporation $UNF

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its stake in shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 12.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,679 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Unifirst were worth $692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UNF. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 4.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,323 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Unifirst by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 11,269 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,961,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in shares of Unifirst during the first quarter worth $87,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unifirst by 4.4% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 149,762 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $26,059,000 after acquiring an additional 6,352 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Trust Co boosted its holdings in Unifirst by 35.5% in the first quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 1,738 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unifirst Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $172.55 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $162.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.03. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.62 and a beta of 0.81. Unifirst Corporation has a 52 week low of $147.66 and a 52 week high of $243.70.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.13. Unifirst had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 7.11%. The company had revenue of $614.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $607.02 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Unifirst has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.580-6.980 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Unifirst Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Unifirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Unifirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNF has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group set a $182.00 target price on shares of Unifirst in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of Unifirst from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Unifirst from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $174.75.

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.