Unifirst Corporation $UNF Shares Sold by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. lessened its holdings in Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,155 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 6,813 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Unifirst worth $2,367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Unifirst in the second quarter valued at $35,684,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Unifirst during the 3rd quarter worth $18,177,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Unifirst by 90.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 191,539 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $36,051,000 after purchasing an additional 90,751 shares in the last quarter. Engine Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Unifirst during the 2nd quarter worth about $11,688,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in Unifirst by 85.4% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 105,005 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $19,764,000 after purchasing an additional 48,378 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unifirst

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.54, for a total value of $347,758.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 6,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,745.94. This represents a 18.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UNF. Barclays upgraded Unifirst from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Unifirst from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Unifirst from $182.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 price target on shares of Unifirst in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $207.25.

Unifirst Stock Performance

NYSE:UNF opened at $260.16 on Friday. Unifirst Corporation has a 1 year low of $147.66 and a 1 year high of $271.35. The stock has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $216.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.13.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $621.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $615.23 million. Unifirst had a return on equity of 6.68% and a net margin of 5.70%.Unifirst’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. Unifirst has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.580-6.980 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Unifirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.365 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Unifirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.31%.

About Unifirst

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).