UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Earns “Underweight” Rating from Barclays

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF)‘s stock had its “underweight” rating restated by analysts at Barclays in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $152.00 price target on the textile maker’s stock, down from their prior price target of $180.00. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 6.97% from the stock’s current price.

UNF has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com cut UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.00.

UniFirst Stock Down 5.1 %

UNF opened at $163.40 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $204.87 and a 200 day moving average of $198.18. UniFirst has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $243.70. The stock has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.89 and a beta of 0.88.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 2nd. The textile maker reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $602.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $602.81 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that UniFirst will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total value of $274,024.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,361,682.25. This represents a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNF. FMR LLC lifted its position in 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. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in UniFirst in the third quarter valued at approximately $219,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in UniFirst by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,069 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in UniFirst by 30.8% in the third quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.