StockNews.com Downgrades UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) to Hold

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

UNF has been the subject of several other reports. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.75.

UniFirst Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE UNF opened at $164.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.88 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.70. UniFirst has a 12 month low of $150.50 and a 12 month high of $187.22.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The textile maker reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 4.92% and a return on equity of 6.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UniFirst will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 2,282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.27, for a total value of $399,966.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $707,039.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UniFirst by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 171 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at about $80,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the 3rd quarter valued at about $99,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 707 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. 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.