UBS Group Raises UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Price Target to $186.00

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) had its price target hoisted by analysts at UBS Group from $184.00 to $186.00 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 objective would indicate a potential upside of 5.64% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on UNF. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UniFirst has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.75.

UniFirst Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of UNF stock traded up $4.00 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $176.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 83,961. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.12. UniFirst has a 12-month low of $150.50 and a 12-month high of $187.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 29.55 and a beta of 0.82.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 3rd. The textile maker reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.20. UniFirst had a net margin of 4.90% and a return on equity of 6.01%. The company had revenue of $593.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $589.64 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that UniFirst will post 7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 2,282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.27, for a total transaction of $399,966.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $707,039.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UniFirst

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNF. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of UniFirst by 4.1% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 16,104 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,967,000 after buying an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 52.7% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 7,984 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,471,000 after buying an additional 2,755 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 9.8% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 50,022 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $9,218,000 after buying an additional 4,452 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in UniFirst by 13.9% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 13,111 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 1.8% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 13,967 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,574,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.