UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Releases FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Wednesday. 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on UNF. StockNews.com raised shares of UniFirst from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of UniFirst from $185.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a neutral 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, UniFirst has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $181.25.

UniFirst Stock Up 14.0 %

Shares of UNF opened at $176.04 on Thursday. UniFirst has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $187.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $160.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.22. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 28.81 and a beta of 0.85.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The textile maker reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.19). UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.19% and a net margin of 4.92%. The business had revenue of $590.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.56 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that UniFirst will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. UniFirst’s payout ratio is 21.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.73, for a total transaction of $1,746,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 87,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,898,081.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other UniFirst news, VP Michael A. Croatti sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $971,243. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 87,558 shares in the company, valued at $13,898,081.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,033 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,882. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.