UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Issues Earnings Results

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The textile maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.84), FiscalAI reports. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.44% and a net margin of 4.65%.The company had revenue of $634.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $627.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

UniFirst Stock Up 2.7%

NYSE:UNF opened at $273.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.16 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $262.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $240.79. UniFirst has a 52 week low of $147.66 and a 52 week high of $283.77.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.365 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UniFirst

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 451,194 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $87,035,000 after purchasing an additional 143,853 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in UniFirst in the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,318,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 85.4% in the second 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 last quarter. FIL Ltd bought a new stake in UniFirst in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,198,000. Finally, Man Group plc raised its stake in UniFirst by 136.6% during the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 68,724 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $12,935,000 after buying an additional 39,682 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on UNF shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of UniFirst from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UniFirst has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.25.

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).