UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) had its target price raised by UBS Group from $194.00 to $196.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the textile maker’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $180.00.

UniFirst Stock Down 5.1 %

UNF stock opened at $163.40 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $198.18. The company has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89 and a beta of 0.88. UniFirst has a 52 week low of $149.58 and a 52 week high of $243.70.

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

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total transaction of $274,024.05. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,361,682.25. This trade represents a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UniFirst

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in UniFirst by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,708,242 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $292,263,000 after buying an additional 6,393 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in UniFirst by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 763,689 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $130,660,000 after purchasing an additional 15,517 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in UniFirst by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,326 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $66,268,000 after acquiring an additional 20,056 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in UniFirst by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $62,456,000 after acquiring an additional 32,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in UniFirst by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 349,298 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $69,401,000 after buying an additional 4,136 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

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.