SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires New Shares in Unifirst Corporation $UNF

by · The Markets Daily

SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF – Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,650 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $777,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Unifirst during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,684,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Unifirst by 90.0% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 191,539 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $36,051,000 after acquiring an additional 90,751 shares in the last quarter. Engine Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Unifirst in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,688,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in Unifirst by 85.4% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 105,005 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $19,764,000 after acquiring an additional 48,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Unifirst by 1,492.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 49,571 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $9,330,000 after purchasing an additional 46,458 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Unifirst from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Unifirst from $182.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays cut their price objective on Unifirst from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 target price on Unifirst in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $181.00.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on UNF

Unifirst Stock Performance

NYSE UNF opened at $205.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.40. Unifirst Corporation has a twelve month low of $147.66 and a twelve month high of $231.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 27.25 and a beta of 0.72.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The textile maker reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.16). Unifirst had a return on equity of 6.68% and a net margin of 5.70%.The business had revenue of $621.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $615.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Unifirst has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.580-6.980 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unifirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.365 per share. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Unifirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.31%.

Unifirst Profile

(Free Report)

UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) is a leading provider of customized uniform rental and facility service programs in North America and Europe. The company specializes in the rental, laundering and maintenance of workwear, corporate apparel and protective garments for a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, automotive, hospitality, healthcare and food processing. UniFirst also offers a suite of facility service products such as entrance mats, restroom supplies, wipers, mops and hygienic services designed to help customers maintain clean and safe environments.

In addition to its core uniform rental business, UniFirst has expanded its product portfolio to include safety and first-responder gear, flame-resistant clothing, high-visibility apparel and personal protective equipment (PPE).

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