UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Stock Price

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) had its price objective increased by UBS Group from $190.00 to $235.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the textile maker’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $197.50.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of UniFirst stock opened at $215.15 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.69 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $190.78 and its 200 day moving average is $186.71. UniFirst has a one year low of $149.58 and a one year high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 5.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. Analysts predict that UniFirst will post 7.68 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This is an increase from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,086,075. This represents a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total value of $1,814,215.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. The trade was a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632 over the last three months. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UniFirst

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of UniFirst by 16.5% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,936 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 60.5% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,231 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 0.6% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 21,491 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.