Inspire Investing LLC Increases Position 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 raised its holdings 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 Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,855 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 3,518 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC's holdings in Unifirst were worth $1,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Unifirst Price Performance

Shares of Unifirst stock traded up $1.35 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $170.67. The company had a trading volume of 43,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 126,660. Unifirst Corporation has a one year low of $156.34 and a one year high of $243.70. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.97 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.81.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 2nd. The textile maker reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.04. Unifirst had a return on equity of 7.35% and a net margin of 6.18%.The business had revenue of $610.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $614.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. The firm's quarterly 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, research analysts forecast that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Unifirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given 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 17.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.