UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Updates FY 2025 Earnings Guidance

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 6.790-7.190 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 7.650. The company issued revenue guidance of $2.4 billion-$2.4 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.4 billion.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNF. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UniFirst from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $186.25.

UniFirst Stock Up 5.1 %

UniFirst stock traded up $10.46 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $215.15. The stock had a trading volume of 578,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,244. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $189.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.69 and a beta of 0.87. UniFirst has a 12-month low of $149.58 and a 12-month high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The company had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that UniFirst will post 7.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. This is a boost from UniFirst's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust - 1 sold 9,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $3,320,968.30. This trade represents a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total value of $113,337.96. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,086,075. This represents a 9.45 % 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 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.86% 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.