UniFirst (NYSE:UNF – Get Free Report) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.
UniFirst stock falls into the buy zone
Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on UniFirst from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.50.
UniFirst Stock Down 2.0 %
Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $167.39 on Thursday. UniFirst has a 52-week low of $150.50 and a 52-week high of $204.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.04 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50 day moving average is $174.38 and its 200 day moving average is $169.87.
UniFirst (NYSE:UNF – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 3rd. The textile maker reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.20. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.01% and a net margin of 4.90%. The company had revenue of $593.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $589.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. UniFirst’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UniFirst will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Institutional Trading of UniFirst
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 241.1% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 17,354 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,690,000 after purchasing an additional 12,266 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank purchased a new position in UniFirst in the 2nd quarter worth $22,256,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in UniFirst by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 424,650 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $69,222,000 after acquiring an additional 20,708 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in UniFirst by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 32,900 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $5,100,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in UniFirst by 41.7% in the 2nd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 13,342 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,068,000 after acquiring an additional 3,925 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.69% of the company’s stock.
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.