UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on UNF. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a neutral rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $177.75.

UniFirst Price Performance

UNF opened at $160.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 26.21 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $166.70 and a 200-day moving average of $169.83. UniFirst has a fifty-two week low of $150.50 and a fifty-two week high of $187.22.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.19). UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.19% and a net margin of 4.92%. The company had revenue of $590.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.56 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that UniFirst will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is 21.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 2,282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.27, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UniFirst

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in UniFirst in the third quarter valued at about $1,516,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in UniFirst by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 7,061 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in UniFirst by 3,393.2% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,122 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 4,004 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in UniFirst by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 3,679 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its position in UniFirst by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.