UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Posts Earnings Results

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The textile maker reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.09, RTT News reports. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The company had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. UniFirst updated its FY 2025 guidance to 6.790-7.190 EPS.

UniFirst Trading Up 5.1 %

Shares of NYSE UNF opened at $215.15 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $190.78 and a 200-day moving average of $186.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.69 and a beta of 0.87. UniFirst has a 12 month low of $149.58 and a 12 month high of $243.70.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This is a boost from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.90%.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total value of $113,337.96. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,086,075. The trade was a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total transaction of $1,814,215.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. The trade was a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNF. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $197.50.

About UniFirst

UniFirst Corporation provides workplace uniforms and protective work wear clothing in the United States, Europe, and Canada. The company operates through U.S. and Canadian Rental and Cleaning, Manufacturing, Specialty Garments Rental and Cleaning, and First Aid segments. It designs, manufactures, personalizes, rents, cleans, delivers, and sells a range of uniforms and protective clothing, including shirts, pants, jackets, coveralls, lab coats, smocks, and aprons; and specialized protective wear, such as flame resistant and high visibility garments.