UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

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

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on UNF. UBS Group increased their price objective on UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UniFirst currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.75.

UniFirst Stock Performance

UNF stock opened at $161.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41 and a beta of 0.83. UniFirst has a fifty-two week low of $150.50 and a fifty-two week high of $187.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $165.92 and a 200-day moving average of $169.71.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $590.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.56 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.19% and a net margin of 4.92%. Equities analysts predict that UniFirst will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UniFirst news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 2,282 shares of UniFirst 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,034 shares in the company, valued at $707,039.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UniFirst

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 171 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 4th quarter worth $80,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 3rd quarter worth $99,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 707 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. 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.