Confluence Investment Management LLC Takes Position in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 28,020 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $5,405,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned 0.15% of UniFirst at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in UniFirst by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,178 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $613,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 208.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 37,411 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $6,255,000 after purchasing an additional 12,965 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 3rd quarter valued at $269,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of UniFirst in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 price target on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of UniFirst from $182.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of UniFirst from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $214.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.54, for a total transaction of $347,758.56. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 6,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,745.94. The trade was a 18.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE:UNF opened at $260.55 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $230.73 and its 200-day moving average is $192.43. UniFirst Corporation has a 1-year low of $147.66 and a 1-year high of $283.77. The stock has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.46 and a beta of 0.69.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The textile maker reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.16). UniFirst had a net margin of 5.70% and a return on equity of 6.68%. The business had revenue of $621.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $615.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. UniFirst has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.580-6.980 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

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

UniFirst 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).