UniFirst (UNF) Competitors

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$261.62 +0.62 (+0.24%)
Closing price 03:57 PM Eastern
Extended Trading
$261.64 +0.02 (+0.01%)
As of 07:42 PM Eastern
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UNF vs. MGRC, HCSG, CTAS, IRM, and CPRT

Should you buy UniFirst stock or one of its competitors? MarketBeat compares UniFirst with other companies and stocks that may be similar based on industry, sector, market capitalization, business model, investor interest, or shared news coverage. Companies and stocks commonly compared with UniFirst include McGrath RentCorp (MGRC), Healthcare Services Group (HCSG), Cintas (CTAS), Iron Mountain (IRM), and Copart (CPRT). These companies are all part of the "diversified support services" industry.

How does UniFirst compare to McGrath RentCorp?

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) and McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) are both mid-cap diversified support services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and media sentiment.

UniFirst has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its share price is 37% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, McGrath RentCorp has a beta of 0.44, suggesting that its share price is 56% less volatile than the broader market.

McGrath RentCorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than UniFirst. McGrath RentCorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than UniFirst, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
UniFirst$2.43B1.94$148.27M$7.3835.45
McGrath RentCorp$944.23M3.11$156.31M$6.3018.97

McGrath RentCorp has a net margin of 16.38% compared to UniFirst's net margin of 5.49%. McGrath RentCorp's return on equity of 12.84% beat UniFirst's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
UniFirst5.49% 6.49% 5.09%
McGrath RentCorp 16.38%12.84%6.59%

UniFirst presently has a consensus target price of $228.25, indicating a potential downside of 12.76%. McGrath RentCorp has a consensus target price of $141.50, indicating a potential upside of 18.40%. Given McGrath RentCorp's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe McGrath RentCorp is more favorable than UniFirst.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
UniFirst
1 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.00
McGrath RentCorp
0 Sell rating(s)
2 Hold rating(s)
2 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.50

78.2% of UniFirst shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.1% of McGrath RentCorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of UniFirst shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of McGrath RentCorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

In the previous week, McGrath RentCorp had 2 more articles in the media than UniFirst. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for McGrath RentCorp and 2 mentions for UniFirst. UniFirst's average media sentiment score of 0.99 beat McGrath RentCorp's score of 0.70 indicating that UniFirst is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
UniFirst
1 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
McGrath RentCorp
3 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

UniFirst pays an annual dividend of $1.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. McGrath RentCorp pays an annual dividend of $1.98 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. UniFirst pays out 19.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. McGrath RentCorp pays out 31.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. UniFirst has raised its dividend for 7 consecutive years and McGrath RentCorp has raised its dividend for 33 consecutive years. McGrath RentCorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

McGrath RentCorp beats UniFirst on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does UniFirst compare to Healthcare Services Group?

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) and Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) are both diversified support services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, media sentiment and institutional ownership.

UniFirst has a net margin of 5.49% compared to Healthcare Services Group's net margin of 3.67%. Healthcare Services Group's return on equity of 17.81% beat UniFirst's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
UniFirst5.49% 6.49% 5.09%
Healthcare Services Group 3.67%17.81%11.06%

UniFirst has higher revenue and earnings than Healthcare Services Group. Healthcare Services Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than UniFirst, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
UniFirst$2.43B1.94$148.27M$7.3835.45
Healthcare Services Group$1.84B0.85$59.06M$0.9623.59

UniFirst has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its share price is 37% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Healthcare Services Group has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its share price is 18% less volatile than the broader market.

UniFirst currently has a consensus price target of $228.25, indicating a potential downside of 12.76%. Healthcare Services Group has a consensus price target of $24.00, indicating a potential upside of 5.96%. Given Healthcare Services Group's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Healthcare Services Group is more favorable than UniFirst.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
UniFirst
1 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.00
Healthcare Services Group
0 Sell rating(s)
4 Hold rating(s)
4 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.67

In the previous week, UniFirst had 2 more articles in the media than Healthcare Services Group. MarketBeat recorded 2 mentions for UniFirst and 0 mentions for Healthcare Services Group. Healthcare Services Group's average media sentiment score of 1.00 beat UniFirst's score of 0.99 indicating that Healthcare Services Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Overall Sentiment
UniFirst Positive
Healthcare Services Group Positive

78.2% of UniFirst shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.0% of Healthcare Services Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of UniFirst shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of Healthcare Services Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Healthcare Services Group beats UniFirst on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does UniFirst compare to Cintas?

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) and Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) are both diversified support services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, earnings, profitability, risk and dividends.

UniFirst pays an annual dividend of $1.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Cintas pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. UniFirst pays out 19.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cintas pays out 50.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. UniFirst has raised its dividend for 7 consecutive years and Cintas has raised its dividend for 42 consecutive years. Cintas is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Cintas has a net margin of 17.57% compared to UniFirst's net margin of 5.49%. Cintas' return on equity of 41.47% beat UniFirst's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
UniFirst5.49% 6.49% 5.09%
Cintas 17.57%41.47%19.36%

UniFirst currently has a consensus price target of $228.25, indicating a potential downside of 12.76%. Cintas has a consensus price target of $215.92, indicating a potential upside of 27.92%. Given Cintas' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Cintas is more favorable than UniFirst.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
UniFirst
1 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.00
Cintas
1 Sell rating(s)
7 Hold rating(s)
6 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.47

Cintas has higher revenue and earnings than UniFirst. UniFirst is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cintas, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
UniFirst$2.43B1.94$148.27M$7.3835.45
Cintas$10.34B6.53$1.81B$3.5447.68

In the previous week, Cintas had 9 more articles in the media than UniFirst. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Cintas and 2 mentions for UniFirst. Cintas' average media sentiment score of 1.13 beat UniFirst's score of 0.99 indicating that Cintas is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
UniFirst
1 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Cintas
10 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
0 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

78.2% of UniFirst shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.5% of Cintas shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of UniFirst shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 14.9% of Cintas shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

UniFirst has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Cintas has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the broader market.

Summary

Cintas beats UniFirst on 17 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does UniFirst compare to Iron Mountain?

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) and Iron Mountain (NYSE:IRM) are both diversified support services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, media sentiment and institutional ownership.

UniFirst has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Iron Mountain has a beta of 1.19, meaning that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the broader market.

UniFirst pays an annual dividend of $1.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Iron Mountain pays an annual dividend of $3.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. UniFirst pays out 19.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Iron Mountain pays out 380.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. UniFirst has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years and Iron Mountain has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

UniFirst currently has a consensus price target of $228.25, suggesting a potential downside of 12.76%. Iron Mountain has a consensus price target of $131.67, suggesting a potential downside of 1.38%. Given Iron Mountain's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Iron Mountain is more favorable than UniFirst.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
UniFirst
1 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.00
Iron Mountain
0 Sell rating(s)
2 Hold rating(s)
4 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.67

UniFirst has a net margin of 5.49% compared to Iron Mountain's net margin of 3.76%. UniFirst's return on equity of 6.49% beat Iron Mountain's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
UniFirst5.49% 6.49% 5.09%
Iron Mountain 3.76%-91.56%3.18%

78.2% of UniFirst shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.1% of Iron Mountain shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of UniFirst shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Iron Mountain shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

In the previous week, Iron Mountain had 9 more articles in the media than UniFirst. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Iron Mountain and 2 mentions for UniFirst. UniFirst's average media sentiment score of 0.99 beat Iron Mountain's score of 0.79 indicating that UniFirst is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
UniFirst
1 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Iron Mountain
4 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
5 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

UniFirst has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Iron Mountain. UniFirst is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Iron Mountain, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
UniFirst$2.43B1.94$148.27M$7.3835.45
Iron Mountain$6.90B5.76$144.59M$0.91146.71

Summary

Iron Mountain beats UniFirst on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does UniFirst compare to Copart?

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) and Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) are both diversified support services companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, earnings and institutional ownership.

Copart has a net margin of 33.48% compared to UniFirst's net margin of 5.49%. Copart's return on equity of 16.63% beat UniFirst's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
UniFirst5.49% 6.49% 5.09%
Copart 33.48%16.63%15.18%

In the previous week, Copart had 6 more articles in the media than UniFirst. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Copart and 2 mentions for UniFirst. Copart's average media sentiment score of 1.48 beat UniFirst's score of 0.99 indicating that Copart is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
UniFirst
1 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Copart
6 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

UniFirst has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its share price is 37% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Copart has a beta of 1, indicating that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the broader market.

UniFirst presently has a consensus target price of $228.25, suggesting a potential downside of 12.76%. Copart has a consensus target price of $44.50, suggesting a potential upside of 50.34%. Given Copart's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Copart is more favorable than UniFirst.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
UniFirst
1 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.00
Copart
2 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
2 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.38

78.2% of UniFirst shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.8% of Copart shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of UniFirst shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.6% of Copart shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Copart has higher revenue and earnings than UniFirst. Copart is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than UniFirst, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
UniFirst$2.43B1.94$148.27M$7.3835.45
Copart$4.65B5.90$1.55B$1.6118.39

Summary

Copart beats UniFirst on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding UNF and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
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Media Sentiment Over Time

This chart shows the average media sentiment of NYSE and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
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UNF vs. The Competition

MetricUniFirstUNIFORM & RELATED IndustryIndustrials SectorNYSE Exchange
Market Cap$4.72B$3.23B$9.61B$23.15B
Dividend Yield0.56%0.56%3.54%4.06%
P/E Ratio35.4535.4525.7631.08
Price / Sales1.941.284,861.55108.25
Price / Cash16.1912.8427.8518.65
Price / Book2.202.114.634.65
Net Income$148.27M$54.03M$793.53M$1.07B
7 Day Performance-1.62%-0.63%-0.07%-1.04%
1 Month Performance-1.29%5.67%0.18%0.18%
1 Year Performance40.97%84.44%25.08%24.25%

UniFirst Competitors List

CompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)
UNF
UniFirst
2.9516 of 5 stars
$261.62
+0.2%
$228.25
-12.8%
+42.1%$4.72B$2.43B35.4516,000
MGRC
McGrath RentCorp
4.6876 of 5 stars
$114.18
-0.8%
$141.50
+23.9%
+6.4%$2.83B$944.23M18.121,306
HCSG
Healthcare Services Group
3.686 of 5 stars
$22.29
-0.4%
$24.00
+7.7%
+57.0%$1.54B$1.84B23.2236,000
CTAS
Cintas
4.8023 of 5 stars
$174.74
-0.9%
$215.92
+23.6%
-22.5%$70.53B$10.34B49.3648,300
IRM
Iron Mountain
2.9454 of 5 stars
$126.22
-0.8%
$131.67
+4.3%
+30.0%$37.86B$6.90B138.7029,400

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This page (NYSE:UNF) was last updated on 6/23/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.
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