Teacher Retirement System of Texas Boosts Stake in Unifirst Corporation $UNF

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 213.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,209 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,608 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.18% of Unifirst worth $6,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNF. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 474.1% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Unifirst by 59.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Unifirst during the 1st quarter worth about $70,000. Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Unifirst during the 1st quarter worth about $87,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unifirst during the 1st quarter worth about $104,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on Unifirst from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group set a $182.00 price objective on shares of Unifirst in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Unifirst in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $175.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Unifirst from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $174.75.

Unifirst Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE UNF opened at $156.17 on Friday. Unifirst Corporation has a 52-week low of $154.00 and a 52-week high of $243.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $168.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.79.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $614.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $607.02 million. Unifirst had a return on equity of 7.11% and a net margin of 6.10%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 EPS. Unifirst has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.580-6.980 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Unifirst Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This is an increase from Unifirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Unifirst’s payout ratio is 17.54%.

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.