UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Price Target Raised to $235.00 at UBS Group

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

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on UNF. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $197.50.

UniFirst Stock Up 5.1 %

NYSE UNF opened at $215.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69 and a beta of 0.87. UniFirst has a 52 week low of $149.58 and a 52 week high of $243.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $190.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.71.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that UniFirst will post 7.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This is a positive change 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total transaction of $113,337.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,075. The trade was a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were 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 directly owns 17,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. The trade was a 35.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of UniFirst by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 737,003 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $126,418,000 after purchasing an additional 23,069 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 32,447 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in UniFirst by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 349,298 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $69,401,000 after buying an additional 4,136 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 229,749 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $45,640,000 after acquiring an additional 8,587 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.