UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.09 EPS

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09, RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. UniFirst updated its FY 2025 guidance to 6.790-7.190 EPS.

UniFirst Stock Up 20.6 %

Shares of UNF stock opened at $204.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.27 and a beta of 0.87. UniFirst has a 12-month low of $149.58 and a 12-month high of $243.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $189.46 and a 200-day moving average of $186.31.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. This is a positive change from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. UniFirst’s payout ratio is presently 18.02%.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In related news, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total value of $1,814,215.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. This trade represents a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total value of $619,079.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,357,105.84. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UniFirst presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.25.

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.