StockNews.com cut shares of UniFirst (NYSE:UNF – Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.
UNF has been the topic of several other reports. Robert W. Baird restated a neutral rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of UniFirst in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays raised their target price on UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UniFirst currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $177.50.
UniFirst Stock Down 1.0 %
Shares of UniFirst stock traded down $1.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $170.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 54,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 72,608. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.48 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.22. UniFirst has a 1-year low of $150.50 and a 1-year high of $193.52.
UniFirst (NYSE:UNF – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 3rd. The textile maker reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $593.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $589.64 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.01% and a net margin of 4.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UniFirst will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current year.
UniFirst Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is 22.11%.
Insider Activity at UniFirst
In related news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 2,282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.27, for a total transaction of $399,966.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,034 shares in the company, valued at $707,039.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On UniFirst
A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,690,940 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $309,290,000 after acquiring an additional 12,138 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 848,299 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $155,162,000 after acquiring an additional 4,078 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 678,973 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $124,193,000 after acquiring an additional 21,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 558,531 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $93,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,591 shares in the last quarter. 76.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
UniFirst Company Profile
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.