Unifirst Corporation $UNF Shares Purchased by Comerica Bank

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its stake in UniFirst Corporation by 55.1%, bringing its total shares to 16,153, worth approximately $2.81 million.
• UniFirst recently reported $2.13 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations by $0.04, while quarterly revenue grew by 1.2% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 0.8%.

Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 55.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,153 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 5,739 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned about 0.09% of Unifirst worth $2,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Unifirst by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,231 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Unifirst by 59.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in Unifirst by 1.1% in the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 7,613 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Unifirst by 88.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 266 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Unifirst by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on UNF. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 target price on Unifirst in a report on Monday, June 30th. Barclays set a $152.00 target price on Unifirst and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Unifirst in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $175.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Unifirst from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unifirst presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $179.50.

Unifirst Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNF traded up $2.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $177.54. The company had a trading volume of 25,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,116. The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81 and a beta of 0.86. Unifirst Corporation has a 12 month low of $156.34 and a 12 month high of $243.70. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $175.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $183.48.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 2nd. The textile maker reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $610.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.50 million. Unifirst had a return on equity of 7.35% and a net margin of 6.18%.The business's revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. Unifirst has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.600-8.00 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Unifirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Unifirst's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.20%.

Unifirst Company Profile

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.