Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) Announces Earnings Results

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The textile maker reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.04, RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $610.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.50 million. Unifirst had a return on equity of 7.46% and a net margin of 6.13%. The firm's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. Unifirst updated its FY 2025 guidance to 7.600-8.00 EPS.

Unifirst Stock Performance

Shares of UNF traded up $3.97 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $175.04. 98,639 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 136,212. Unifirst has a 52-week low of $156.34 and a 52-week high of $243.70. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $184.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $192.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77 and a beta of 0.86.

Unifirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Unifirst's payout ratio is 17.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unifirst

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNF. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Unifirst by 37.3% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 105,331 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $18,328,000 after acquiring an additional 28,589 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 729.0% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 40,224 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $6,999,000 after purchasing an additional 35,372 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 3.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 34,914 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $6,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Unifirst by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,152 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $4,724,000 after buying an additional 1,974 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Unifirst by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,966 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,560,000 after buying an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays set a $152.00 target price on Unifirst and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 price objective on Unifirst in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Unifirst from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday.

Unifirst declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the textile maker to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.