UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Price Target Raised to $199.00

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) had its price target lifted by Robert W. Baird from $185.00 to $199.00 in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the textile maker’s stock.

UNF has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective on UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, StockNews.com raised UniFirst from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UniFirst has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $186.00.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNF opened at $171.53 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 0.85. UniFirst has a fifty-two week low of $149.58 and a fifty-two week high of $187.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $160.84 and a 200-day moving average of $167.10.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The textile maker reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $590.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $587.56 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 6.93%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UniFirst will post 7.44 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UniFirst news, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 5,500 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.76, for a total transaction of $856,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 68,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,600,714.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Michael A. Croatti sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $304,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now 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 available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.76, for a total value of $856,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 68,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,600,714.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,033 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,882 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UniFirst

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 171 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in UniFirst by 69.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 414 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at about $80,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in UniFirst during the 3rd quarter valued at about $99,000. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

About UniFirst

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.