William Blair Has Negative Estimate for Unifirst Q1 Earnings

Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) – Investment analysts at William Blair lowered their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Unifirst in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, October 22nd. William Blair analyst T. Mulrooney now anticipates that the textile maker will earn $2.05 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.48. The consensus estimate for Unifirst’s current full-year earnings is $7.71 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Unifirst’s Q2 2026 earnings at $1.20 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.86 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.97 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $7.08 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.46 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.43 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $2.16 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $2.27 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $8.32 EPS.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $614.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $607.02 million. Unifirst had a return on equity of 7.11% and a net margin of 6.10%.Unifirst’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. Unifirst has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.580-6.980 EPS.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on UNF. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unifirst in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 price target on Unifirst in a research report on Monday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Unifirst in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $175.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group set a $182.00 target price on Unifirst in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Unifirst from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $174.75.

Unifirst Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of UNF stock opened at $158.09 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $169.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.12. Unifirst has a 12-month low of $154.00 and a 12-month high of $243.70.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unifirst

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 4.0% in the first quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 5.5% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,204 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 0.9% in the second quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 7,426 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 2.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,027 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 22.6% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 450 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

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.