UNF NYSE Week ended 24 Jul 2026

Weekly Investor Report

Unifirst Corporation · Industrials · Specialty Business Services

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Latest close 294.3 USD
1.0% latest week
Weekly setup

Constructive, but selective

The weekly trend is active. Price is 17.7% above the Trend Line and sits at 99.2% of its 52-week range. The latest completed week returned 1.0%, after a 10.6% four-week move. The latest factor snapshot indicates quality ranks weakly versus its universe; growth ranks weakly; valuation is expensive relative to peers. Options positioning is bullish with 42/100 conviction, while the latest news-sentiment score is 56/100. Near-term considerations: price is close to its 52-week high; volume confirmation is below normal; earnings are due in 84d.

Setup score 68 out of 100
Latest Close 294.3 USD 24 Jul 2026
1W Return 1.0% latest completed week
4W Return 10.6% short-term follow-through
12W Return 16.9% quarterly tape
Trend Breadth 55.8% 29 of 52 weeks active
Volume Ratio 0.9x vs 13-week average
What is working
  • The trend backdrop is active with a 29-week active streak.
  • Price is above the Trend Line, keeping the weekly tape constructive.
  • Price is above Fair Value, showing premium demand versus the model.
  • Activity pressure is positive on the latest completed week.
What could go wrong
  • Next-week expectancy is negative at 43.56% based on similar historical setup states.
  • 16 reversal markers appear in the recent smart-money tape.
What to watch next
  • Price is close to its 52-week high; watch for continuation or exhaustion.
  • Trend Line remains the key weekly regime level.
  • Activity pressure is the gauge to monitor for confirmation or fade.
  • A volume ratio above 1.5x would show stronger participation in the next move.
Price follow-through 1.0% Latest completed week; four-week move 10.6%. Indicator stack 76/69 Trend and activity pressure are weighted against the latest 12-week confirmation window. Trend backdrop Active The trend backdrop defines the current weekly regime. Patient Capital Quiet Activity-pressure buy-signal status for institutional accumulation timing. Next-Week Expectancy Negative 43.56% Historical one-week expectancy contributes to the evidence score when direction is confirmed. Options pressure Bullish 42/100 conviction; expected move 4.4%. News sentiment 56/100 55 relevant articles in the latest sentiment read. Event risk 84d Next report is scheduled for 21 Oct 2026; event risk rises as the date approaches.
01 · Price action

Where price is—and whether the trend supports it

The weekly trend is active. Price is 17.7% above the Trend Line and sits at 99.2% of its 52-week range. The latest completed week returned 1.0%, after a 10.6% four-week move.

Study the full chart

52-week price path

Price vs Trend Line and Fair Value
Price Trend Line Fair Value
02 · Volume and demand

Is real participation confirming the move?

Latest weekly volume is 0.9x the 13-week average. Participation is below its recent norm, so price strength is not receiving full volume confirmation.

26-week volume confirmation

Bar height shows volume; colour shows the weekly price direction
30 Jan 6 Feb 13 Feb 20 Feb 27 Feb 6 Mar 13 Mar 20 Mar 27 Mar 3 Apr 10 Apr 17 Apr 24 Apr 1 May 8 May 15 May 22 May 29 May 5 Jun 12 Jun 19 Jun 26 Jun 3 Jul 10 Jul 17 Jul 24 Jul
Up week Down week
Demand beneath price

Activity pressure and institutional-style signals

These indicators assess whether participation is improving beneath the headline price move. They are supporting evidence, not proof of institutional buying.

Activity pressure path

Latest 0.8512-week average 0.82

12-week confirmation

Trend active12/12Active trend-backdrop weeks in the latest 12-week window.
Positive pressure4/12Weeks with constructive activity pressure in the latest 12-week window.
Positive leadership12/12Weeks with positive relative leadership in the latest 12-week window.
Activity pressure0.85Current proprietary activity-pressure read.
Buy signals0Accumulation signal count in the latest 12 weeks.
Reversal markers1616 reversal markers

No recent accumulation markers. 16 reversal markers.

03 · Momentum and leadership

Is performance persistent—and is the stock leading?

Performance is 10.6% over four weeks, 16.9% over 12 weeks, and 70.9% over one year. The current trend has remained active for 29 consecutive weeks.

Performance by holding period

1W1.0%
4W10.6%
12W16.9%
26W41.9%
52W70.9%
Active trend streak29 weeks
Active weeks in one year29
Trend breadth55.8%

Activity pressure vs relative leadership

Activity pressureRelative leadership
Pressure0.30Latest activity-pressure read.
Pressure change170.3%Four-week change in activity pressure.
Leadership26.95Latest relative-leadership reading.
RS change39.9%Four-week change in relative leadership.
04 · Fundamentals and valuation

What investors are paying for—and the quality behind it

The latest factor snapshot indicates quality ranks weakly versus its universe; growth ranks weakly; valuation is expensive relative to peers.

Open full factor analysis
Factor week 26 Jul 2026 Financial statements through 31 Aug 2025 Field coverage 100% Model confidence 100%

Relative factor standing

Higher display scores are better. Each score is converted from the underlying universe rank, where rank 1 is best.

Overall factor strength17/100Blend of value, momentum, and quality. Underlying universe rank 84; rank 1 is best.
Value13/100Relative valuation strength. Underlying universe rank 88; rank 1 is best.
Quality20/100Profitability and accounting quality. Underlying universe rank 81; rank 1 is best.
Momentum90/100Medium-term price momentum. Underlying universe rank 11; rank 1 is best.
Growth5/100Revenue and earnings growth. Underlying universe rank 96; rank 1 is best.
How to read this

Quality and valuation are separate questions

A strong company can still carry a demanding valuation. This report shows profitability, growth, balance-sheet strength, and the price paid for those characteristics separately.

Value-quality framework11/100Value and quality alignment from the Sharemaestro SVQF framework.

Valuation

How much investors are paying for earnings, sales, and cash flow.

P/E
46.0x
Price divided by trailing earnings.
Price / sales
2.1x
Market value relative to trailing revenue.
EV / EBITDA
17.9x
Enterprise value relative to operating cash earnings.
Free-cash-flow yield
7.4%
Free cash flow as a share of enterprise value.

Business quality

Margins and the return generated on invested capital.

Gross margin
36.7%
Gross profit retained from each unit of revenue.
Operating margin
6.0%
Operating profit retained from revenue.
Free-cash-flow margin
15.6%
Free cash flow generated from revenue.
Return on invested capital
5.4%
Operating return generated on invested capital.

Growth and financial strength

Recent business growth and accounting strength.

Revenue growth
1.4%
Latest one-year revenue growth.
EPS growth
-23.8%
Latest one-year earnings-per-share growth.
Free-cash-flow growth
-12.7%
Latest one-year free-cash-flow growth.
Piotroski F-score
4/9
Nine-point accounting-strength checklist.

Shareholder return and balance sheet

Cash returned to owners and financial leverage.

Dividend yield
0.5%
Cash dividends relative to market value.
Buyback yield
1.5%
Net share repurchases relative to market value.
Shareholder yield
2.0%
Dividend yield plus net buyback yield.
Net debt / EBITDA
-0.3x
Balance-sheet debt relative to operating cash earnings.
05 · Ownership, options, and sentiment

What other market participants are doing

Options, insider transactions, market sentiment, and activity-pressure signals can confirm or challenge the price story. None should be used alone.

Options positioningBullish

UNF shows bullish options pressure with a 42/100 conviction score, put-call volume ratio of 0.14, expected move of 4.4%, and Sharemaestro trend signal active.

Conviction42/100
Expected move4.4%
Put/call volume0.14
Pressure65
Speculation8
Volatility30
Trend agreement38
Open options detail
Insider activity-

No recent insider transactions are stored for this company.

News sentiment56/100

Weighted news tone is neutral across 55 relevant articles.

18 positive · 31 neutral · 6 negative
Patient CapitalQuiet

Activity-pressure buy-signal evidence highlights potential institutional accumulation windows.

No recent buy signal
06 · Catalysts and risk

What can move the shares—and how volatile the path has been

Event timing, options-implied movement, drawdown, and weekly return distribution frame the risk around the current setup.

Next earnings84dNext report is scheduled for 21 Oct 2026; event risk rises as the date approaches.
Options expected move4.4%Nearest-chain priced movement where available.
52-week drawdown-0.4%Distance below the 52-week high.
13-week volatility2.6%Standard deviation of weekly returns.

Weekly gains and losses

Latest 26 completed weeks

Each bar is one week. Gains rise above the zero line; losses fall below it. Taller bars mean a larger weekly move.

Weeks higher15 of 2611 weeks finished lower.
Best week+18.9%Week of 13 Feb.
Worst week-6.3%Week of 6 Feb.
Latest week+1.0%Week of 24 Jul.

Shape of recent returns

Strong gains4
Modest gains11
Flat weeks0
Modest losses8
Sharp losses3
Recent vol2.6%13-week weekly-return volatility.
Base vol4.9%52-week weekly-return volatility.
Up/down split29/23Count of positive and negative weeks in the 52-week window.
Average skew4.1% / -2.6%Average positive week versus average negative week.
07 · Sector and peer context

Is this stock leading—or simply moving with its group?

Sector and industry breadth distinguish company-specific strength from a broad group move.

08 · Evidence and weekly data

The underlying research record

Every top-level statement above should be traceable to a stored market, fundamental, event, or positioning observation.

Weekly tape65/100

Trend, activity pressure, participation, and risk combine to a 65/100 tape read.

 Indicator analysis67/100

Latest 12-week confirmation: trend 12/12, activity pressure 4/12, relative leadership 12/12.

Activity pressure 0.85; 16 reversal markers Next-Week ExpectancyNegative 43.56%

Next-week expectancy is negative with a 43.56% historical one-week setup read.

Adds short-term historical context without overriding trend, activity, or relative leadership. Factors32/100

O'Shaughnessy factor stack blends value, quality, momentum, and confidence.

Buyback Yield rank 27; Small Cap Core rank 84 SVQF11/100

Value and quality alignment from the Sharemaestro SVQF framework.

Composite rank 897.0 of 1013 Patient CapitalQuiet

Activity-pressure buy-signal evidence highlights potential institutional accumulation windows.

No recent buy signal Options53/100

UNF shows bullish options pressure with a 42/100 conviction score, put-call volume ratio of 0.14, expected move of 4.4%, and Sharemaestro trend signal active.

Bullish · Call-side pressure · Expected move 4.4% Sentiment56/100

Weighted news tone is neutral across 55 relevant articles.

UniFirst stock trades steadily as investors weigh latest earnings and margin trends Insiders50/100

No recent insider transaction evidence is stored.

 Earnings84d

Next report is scheduled for 21 Oct 2026; event risk rises as the date approaches.

 Research flow3 items

0 recent research articles and 3 Market Watch posts are available.
WeekCloseReturnTrend LineFair ValuePressureLeadershipVolumeTrend
24 Jul 2026294.3 USD1.0%250.0 USD190.1 USD0.3026.95846.9KOn
17 Jul 2026291.4 USD7.2%246.8 USD189.2 USD0.0525.93736.7KOn
10 Jul 2026271.8 USD-0.7%242.7 USD188.3 USD-0.2816.42573.4KOn
3 Jul 2026273.6 USD2.8%239.6 USD187.5 USD-0.3419.37789.6KOn
26 Jun 2026266.1 USD1.9%236.5 USD186.7 USD-0.4319.261.1MOn
19 Jun 2026261.0 USD-1.4%233.4 USD186.0 USD-0.4314.65730.1KOn
12 Jun 2026264.8 USD-1.9%230.1 USD185.3 USD-0.2917.702.2MOn
5 Jun 2026269.9 USD1.8%226.6 USD184.7 USD-0.2121.001.1MOn
29 May 2026265.1 USD-0.0%222.6 USD184.1 USD-0.2316.23620.7KOn
22 May 2026265.1 USD1.7%218.9 USD183.5 USD-0.1418.161.1MOn
15 May 2026260.7 USD3.4%215.4 USD182.9 USD0.0717.511.1MOn
8 May 2026252.1 USD0.1%212.3 USD182.3 USD0.2914.111.1MOn
1 May 2026251.8 USD-3.1%209.1 USD181.7 USD0.6016.77858.0KOn
24 Apr 2026259.9 USD-1.1%206.4 USD181.1 USD0.8521.911.0MOn
How to use this report

This is a completed-week research summary. It explains the available evidence and its conflicts; it does not predict a guaranteed outcome or replace your own risk assessment. Fundamental figures may refer to an earlier financial reporting period, which is shown above.