UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

Separately, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.25.

UniFirst Stock Up 5.1 %

NYSE:UNF traded up $10.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $215.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 601,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 392,733. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $190.08 and a 200-day moving average of $186.51. UniFirst has a 1 year low of $149.58 and a 1 year high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The company’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. On average, analysts expect that UniFirst will post 7.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of UniFirst 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,075. This trade represents a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst in the third quarter valued at about $10,270,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in UniFirst by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 332,187 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $65,989,000 after buying an additional 36,651 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in UniFirst by 25.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 173,315 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $29,729,000 after buying an additional 35,604 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in UniFirst by 464.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $8,188,000 after acquiring an additional 33,919 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 654,495 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $130,015,000 after acquiring an additional 32,447 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.