UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Price Target Raised to $199.00 at Robert W. Baird

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) had its target price boosted by Robert W. Baird from $185.00 to $199.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the textile maker’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on UNF. StockNews.com upgraded UniFirst from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Barclays raised 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $186.00.

UniFirst Price Performance

UNF opened at $171.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 0.85. UniFirst has a 12 month low of $149.58 and a 12 month high of $187.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $160.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.25.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The textile maker reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $590.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.56 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.19% and a net margin of 4.92%. Equities research analysts anticipate that UniFirst will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.27%.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In related news, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.73, for a total transaction of $1,746,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 87,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,898,081.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other UniFirst news, VP Michael A. Croatti sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $304,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $971,243. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.73, for a total value of $1,746,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 87,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,898,081.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,033 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,882 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UniFirst

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 15.6% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,156 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,166,000 after buying an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the 3rd quarter worth about $279,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al raised its stake in shares of UniFirst by 62.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al now owns 36,782 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $5,996,000 after purchasing an additional 14,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst during the third quarter worth about $99,000. 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.