FY2025 EPS Estimates for Unifirst Increased by William Blair

Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) - Research analysts at William Blair lifted their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Unifirst in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, July 2nd. William Blair analyst T. Mulrooney now expects that the textile maker will post earnings per share of $8.01 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $7.94. The consensus estimate for Unifirst's current full-year earnings is $7.71 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Unifirst's Q4 2025 earnings at $2.03 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.48 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $2.29 EPS.

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 company had revenue of $610.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.50 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in 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. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Unifirst from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 30th.

Unifirst Stock Performance

Shares of UNF traded down $5.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $169.93. 182,480 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 107,958. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.88 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.92. Unifirst has a 52 week low of $156.34 and a 52 week high of $243.70.

Unifirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Unifirst's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.20%.

Unifirst declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the textile maker to reacquire up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unifirst

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Unifirst by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,708,242 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $292,263,000 after acquiring an additional 6,393 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Unifirst by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 763,689 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $130,660,000 after acquiring an additional 15,517 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Unifirst by 3.0% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 608,245 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $105,835,000 after acquiring an additional 17,530 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Unifirst by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,326 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $66,268,000 after acquiring an additional 20,056 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Unifirst by 85,558.5% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 307,514 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $53,507,000 after acquiring an additional 307,155 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

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.