FY2025 EPS Estimates for UniFirst Boosted by William Blair

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) – William Blair upped their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of UniFirst in a report released on Wednesday, April 2nd. William Blair analyst T. Mulrooney now anticipates that the textile maker will post earnings per share of $7.94 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $7.63. The consensus estimate for UniFirst’s current full-year earnings is $7.71 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for UniFirst’s FY2025 earnings at $7.94 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.54 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.54 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.70 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.70 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.24 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.24 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.44 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.44 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $8.92 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.92 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on UNF. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $152.00 price target (down previously from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Friday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $180.00.

UniFirst Price Performance

UNF opened at $163.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.89 and a beta of 0.88. UniFirst has a one year low of $149.58 and a one year high of $243.70. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $204.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $198.11.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 2nd. The textile maker reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.03). UniFirst had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The firm had revenue of $602.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $602.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. UniFirst’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UniFirst

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of UniFirst by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,936 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in UniFirst by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 740 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in UniFirst by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,231 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in UniFirst by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 8,140 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total value of $274,024.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. The trade was a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is currently 17.41%.

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.