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

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Separately, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $197.50.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UniFirst stock opened at $215.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $190.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.71. UniFirst has a fifty-two week low of $149.58 and a fifty-two week high of $243.70. The company has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69 and a beta of 0.87.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 5.99%. UniFirst’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.26 earnings per share. Analysts expect that UniFirst will post 7.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total transaction of $1,814,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,390 shares in the company, valued at $3,320,968.30. The trade was a 35.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total value of $619,079.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,357,105.84. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UniFirst

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in UniFirst by 464.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $8,188,000 after buying an additional 33,919 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 67.7% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 2,707 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in UniFirst by 164.2% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,387 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,666,000 after acquiring an additional 5,213 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd grew its position in UniFirst by 255.1% during the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 4,542 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 3,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in UniFirst in the second quarter valued at about $471,000. 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.