UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Given New $199.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) had its target price upped by Robert W. Baird from $185.00 to $199.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the textile maker’s stock.

UNF has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays raised their target price on UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of UniFirst from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UniFirst currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $186.00.

UniFirst Stock Performance

NYSE:UNF opened at $171.50 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $160.58 and its 200-day moving average is $167.25. UniFirst has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $187.22. The company has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 0.85.

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

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In related news, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.76, for a total transaction of $856,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 68,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,600,714.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other UniFirst news, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.76, for a total value of $856,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 68,058 shares in the company, valued at $10,600,714.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael A. Croatti sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $971,243. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 28,033 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,882. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNF. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in UniFirst by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,695,590 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $294,066,000 after acquiring an additional 4,650 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 848,299 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $155,162,000 after purchasing an additional 4,078 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in UniFirst by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 678,973 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $124,193,000 after purchasing an additional 21,115 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 446,335 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $81,639,000 after buying an additional 21,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in UniFirst by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 204,545 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $37,413,000 after buying an additional 1,471 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.