UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Releases FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 7.170-7.490 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 7.450. The company issued revenue guidance of $2.4 billion-$2.4 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.4 billion. UniFirst also updated its FY24 guidance to $7.17-7.49 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on UNF shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on UniFirst from $185.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of UniFirst from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of UniFirst from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of UniFirst from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $186.00.

UniFirst Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE UNF opened at $171.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 0.85. UniFirst has a 12-month low of $149.58 and a 12-month high of $187.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $160.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.20.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The textile maker reported $1.22 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $587.56 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 6.93%. On average, equities analysts predict that UniFirst will post 7.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.27%.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.73, for a total transaction of $1,746,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 87,558 shares in the company, valued at $13,898,081.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other UniFirst news, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.73, for a total value of $1,746,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 87,558 shares in the company, valued at $13,898,081.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Croatti sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total transaction of $304,200.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $971,243. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,033 shares of company stock worth $4,398,882. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

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.