The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New Investment in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Sep 4th, 2026

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,078 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,872,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of UniFirst in the second quarter worth approximately $580,008,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in UniFirst by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 865,014 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $166,861,000 after buying an additional 75,524 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in UniFirst by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,418 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $151,895,000 after buying an additional 14,751 shares during the last quarter. Engine Capital Management LP boosted its position in UniFirst by 640.5% during the 4th quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 459,871 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $88,709,000 after buying an additional 397,772 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in UniFirst by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 451,194 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $87,035,000 after buying an additional 143,853 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of UniFirst from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $262.00 price objective on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $246.67.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on UNF

UniFirst Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of UNF opened at $274.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.37 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $284.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.22. UniFirst Corporation has a 52 week low of $147.66 and a 52 week high of $306.67.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 1st. The textile maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.84). The company had revenue of $634.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $627.66 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 6.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.49 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.365 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.03%.

UniFirst Profile

(Free Report)

UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) is a leading provider of customized uniform rental and facility service programs in North America and Europe. The company specializes in the rental, laundering and maintenance of workwear, corporate apparel and protective garments for a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, automotive, hospitality, healthcare and food processing. UniFirst also offers a suite of facility service products such as entrance mats, restroom supplies, wipers, mops and hygienic services designed to help customers maintain clean and safe environments.

In addition to its core uniform rental business, UniFirst has expanded its product portfolio to include safety and first-responder gear, flame-resistant clothing, high-visibility apparel and personal protective equipment (PPE).