Analysts Set Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) Target Price at $181.00

Shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $181.00.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on UNF shares. Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 price objective on Unifirst in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Unifirst from $182.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Unifirst from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Unifirst Stock Down 0.5%

Unifirst stock opened at $231.57 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $214.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.92. The stock has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.63 and a beta of 0.69. Unifirst has a 52 week low of $147.66 and a 52 week high of $243.45.

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

Unifirst Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Unifirst

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of Unifirst stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.54, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unifirst

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Unifirst by 3,281.8% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,232 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 2,166 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Unifirst by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 865,014 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $166,861,000 after buying an additional 75,524 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Unifirst by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,153 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Unifirst during the 4th quarter valued at $92,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Unifirst during the 4th quarter valued at $1,891,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).