Q4 2024 EPS Estimates for UniFirst Co. Boosted by Analyst (NYSE:UNF)

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) – Analysts at William Blair lifted their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of UniFirst in a report issued on Wednesday, June 26th. William Blair analyst T. Mulrooney now anticipates that the textile maker will earn $2.04 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.96. The consensus estimate for UniFirst’s current full-year earnings is $7.44 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for UniFirst’s Q1 2025 earnings at $2.39 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.45 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.09 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $8.15 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.97 EPS.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on UniFirst from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on UniFirst from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com raised UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on UniFirst from $185.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.00.

UniFirst Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:UNF opened at $171.53 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 0.85. UniFirst has a twelve month low of $149.58 and a twelve month high of $187.22.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The textile maker reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $590.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.56 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 5.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UniFirst

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 171 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 4.8% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,211 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 825 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 8,613 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 11.3% during the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,561 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In other news, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.76, for a total transaction of $856,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 68,058 shares in the company, valued at $10,600,714.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other UniFirst news, VP Michael A. Croatti sold 1,800 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $304,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,747 shares in the company, valued at $971,243. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.76, for a total value of $856,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 68,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,600,714.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,033 shares of company stock worth $4,398,882 over the last ninety days. 0.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.27%.

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.