Research Analysts Set Expectations for UniFirst Q3 Earnings

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) – Equities research analysts at William Blair dropped their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of UniFirst in a research note issued on Wednesday, January 8th. William Blair analyst T. Mulrooney now anticipates that the textile maker will post earnings per share of $1.99 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.08. The consensus estimate for UniFirst’s current full-year earnings is $7.68 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for UniFirst’s Q4 2025 earnings at $1.92 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.55 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $2.26 EPS.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 5.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS.

UNF has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group raised their price target on UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $197.50.

UniFirst Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE UNF opened at $220.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33 and a beta of 0.87. UniFirst has a fifty-two week low of $149.58 and a fifty-two week high of $243.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $190.78 and a 200-day moving average of $186.71.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This is an increase from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. UniFirst’s payout ratio is currently 17.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNF. Barclays PLC grew its stake in UniFirst by 464.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $8,188,000 after acquiring an additional 33,919 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 67.7% in the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 2,707 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 164.2% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,387 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,666,000 after buying an additional 5,213 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in UniFirst by 255.1% in the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 4,542 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 3,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in UniFirst in the 2nd quarter worth $471,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.