UBS Group Raises UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Price Target to $186.00

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) had its price objective upped by analysts at UBS Group from $184.00 to $186.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the textile maker’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 5.64% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on UNF. StockNews.com cut UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 23rd. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of UniFirst in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.75.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UNF traded up $4.00 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $176.07. 22,673 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 83,961. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55 and a beta of 0.82. UniFirst has a twelve month low of $150.50 and a twelve month high of $187.22. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $170.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.12.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 3rd. The textile maker reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $593.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $589.64 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.01% and a net margin of 4.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UniFirst will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In other news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 2,282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.27, for a total transaction of $399,966.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $707,039.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UniFirst

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in UniFirst by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,690,940 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $309,290,000 after buying an additional 12,138 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in UniFirst by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 848,299 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $155,162,000 after buying an additional 4,078 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in UniFirst by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 678,973 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $124,193,000 after acquiring an additional 21,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in UniFirst by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 558,531 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $93,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,591 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

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.