UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Separately, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UniFirst has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $197.50.

UniFirst Stock Performance

NYSE:UNF opened at $215.15 on Wednesday. UniFirst has a fifty-two week low of $149.58 and a fifty-two week high of $243.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.71. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69 and a beta of 0.87.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 5.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. Research analysts predict that UniFirst will post 7.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total transaction of $113,337.96. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,086,075. This trade represents a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total transaction of $1,814,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. This represents a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UniFirst

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of UNF. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in UniFirst by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 3.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,936 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 60.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,231 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $726,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in UniFirst by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 21,491 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.