Inspire Investing LLC Boosts Stake in Unifirst Corporation $UNF

Key Points

• Inspire Investing LLC significantly increased its stake in Unifirst Corporation by 150.5% in the first quarter, owning 5,855 shares valued at $1,019,000.
• Other institutional investors also boosted their positions, with Jones Financial Companies increasing its stake by over 85,558%, now holding 307,514 shares worth $53.5 million.
• Unifirst reported $2.13 earnings per share for the latest quarter, beating estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share to be paid in September.

Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 150.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,855 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 3,518 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC's holdings in Unifirst were worth $1,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UNF. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Unifirst by 85,558.5% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 307,514 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $53,507,000 after purchasing an additional 307,155 shares during the period. Voss Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Unifirst during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,529,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unifirst by 353.8% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 171,346 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $29,815,000 after purchasing an additional 133,588 shares during the period. Clearline Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Unifirst during the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,219,000. Finally, Ulysses Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unifirst during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,318,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Unifirst Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of UNF opened at $171.61 on Friday. Unifirst Corporation has a twelve month low of $156.34 and a twelve month high of $243.70. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $174.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Unifirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Unifirst's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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