Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 5,081 Shares of Unifirst Corporation $UNF

Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 43.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,623 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 5,081 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Unifirst were worth $1,107,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Unifirst during the second quarter worth $25,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 285.7% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 135 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Unifirst by 378.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 153 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Unifirst by 474.1% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unifirst during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 Unifirst stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president directly 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 link. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Unifirst Stock Performance

UNF stock opened at $260.16 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $216.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.13. Unifirst Corporation has a 52 week low of $147.66 and a 52 week high of $271.35. The company has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41 and a beta of 0.69.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The textile maker reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.16). Unifirst had a return on equity of 6.68% and a net margin of 5.70%.The business had revenue of $621.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $615.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. Unifirst’s 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. On average, analysts forecast that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Unifirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Unifirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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).