Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Unifirst Corporation $UNF

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 3.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,231 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 251 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unifirst were worth $1,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pullen Investment Management LLC raised its position in Unifirst by 0.9% in the second quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 7,426 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in Unifirst by 10.9% during the second quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 10,200 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,920,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Unifirst by 264.6% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 7,579 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,427,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Unifirst in the second quarter valued at about $363,000. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Unifirst in the second quarter worth about $866,000. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on UNF. UBS Group set a $182.00 target price on Unifirst in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Unifirst in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $175.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Unifirst from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Unifirst from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $174.75.

Unifirst Stock Down 1.3%

Unifirst stock opened at $154.39 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $168.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.65. Unifirst Corporation has a twelve month low of $152.00 and a twelve month high of $243.70. The firm has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35 and a beta of 0.86.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 7.11%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Unifirst has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.580-6.980 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Unifirst Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.365 per share. This is a positive change from Unifirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Unifirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.30%.

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.