UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Stock

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) had its price target raised by stock analysts at UBS Group from $190.00 to $235.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the textile maker’s stock. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 6.75% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com downgraded UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $197.50.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UNF opened at $220.15 on Thursday. UniFirst has a 12 month low of $149.58 and a 12 month high of $243.70. The stock has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $190.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.71.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In other news, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,357,105.84. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total value of $113,337.96. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,075. This trade represents a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632 in the last ninety days. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 3rd quarter worth about $10,270,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 12.4% in the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 332,187 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $65,989,000 after acquiring an additional 36,651 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in UniFirst by 25.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 173,315 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $29,729,000 after acquiring an additional 35,604 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 464.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $8,188,000 after purchasing an additional 33,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 5.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 654,495 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $130,015,000 after purchasing an additional 32,447 shares during the last quarter. 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.