StockNews.com Downgrades UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) to Hold

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on UNF. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.75.

UniFirst Price Performance

UniFirst stock opened at $164.24 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $166.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.83. UniFirst has a 1 year low of $150.50 and a 1 year high of $187.22. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.88 and a beta of 0.82.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The textile maker reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.19). UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.19% and a net margin of 4.92%. The business had revenue of $590.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $587.56 million. Research analysts expect that UniFirst will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

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

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 171 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the fourth quarter worth $80,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the fourth quarter worth $82,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the third quarter worth $99,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 22.1% in the third quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 707 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.