Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Stock Holdings in Unifirst Corporation $UNF

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its position in Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,245 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 5,145 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.09% of Unifirst worth $2,716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake 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 during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Unifirst by 93.0% in 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. Engine Capital Management LP bought a new position in Unifirst in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,688,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 118.1% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,830 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,038,000 after buying an additional 5,864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Unifirst during the second quarter valued at about $2,947,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays cut their target price on Unifirst from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Unifirst from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Unifirst from $182.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 target price on Unifirst in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unifirst has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $181.00.

Unifirst Stock Performance

Shares of Unifirst stock opened at $200.07 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $195.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.56. The company has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46 and a beta of 0.72. Unifirst Corporation has a one year low of $147.66 and a one year high of $222.32.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The textile maker reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $621.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $615.23 million. Unifirst had a net margin of 5.70% and a return on equity of 6.68%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. Unifirst has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.580-6.980 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unifirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Unifirst’s payout ratio is 19.31%.

Unifirst Company 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).