UBS Group Boosts UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Price Target to $235.00

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at UBS Group from $190.00 to $235.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the textile maker’s stock. UBS Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 6.75% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $197.50.

UniFirst Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE UNF opened at $220.15 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $190.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.71. The stock has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33 and a beta of 0.87. UniFirst has a 52 week low of $149.58 and a 52 week high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 5.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UniFirst will post 7.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In other news, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total transaction of $619,079.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,357,105.84. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total value of $113,337.96. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,075. This trade represents a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 464.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $8,188,000 after acquiring an additional 33,919 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC boosted its stake in UniFirst by 67.7% in the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 2,707 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in UniFirst by 164.2% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,387 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,666,000 after purchasing an additional 5,213 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd raised its stake in UniFirst by 255.1% during the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 4,542 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UniFirst during the 2nd quarter valued at $471,000. 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.