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

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.09, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. UniFirst updated its FY 2025 guidance to 6.790-7.190 EPS.

UniFirst Stock Up 20.6 %

UNF opened at $204.13 on Wednesday. UniFirst has a 52 week low of $149.58 and a 52 week high of $243.70. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $189.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.31. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 26.27 and a beta of 0.87.

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. This is a boost from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. UniFirst’s payout ratio is presently 18.02%.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In other UniFirst 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 $3,320,968.30. The trade was a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total value of $113,337.96. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,086,075. This represents a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.