UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Downgraded to “Buy” Rating 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 raised their price target on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UniFirst currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.25.

UniFirst Stock Up 5.1 %

UNF stock traded up $10.46 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $215.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 601,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 392,733. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.69 and a beta of 0.87. UniFirst has a 12 month low of $149.58 and a 12 month high of $243.70. The company has a 50 day moving average of $190.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $186.51.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total value of $113,337.96. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,086,075. This represents a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. This represents a 35.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UniFirst

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP grew its position in UniFirst by 1,627.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 190 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 60.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 16.5% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in UniFirst by 291.6% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in UniFirst during the 3rd quarter valued at about $109,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently 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.