UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on UNF. Robert W. Baird reissued a neutral rating and set a $185.00 price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $177.75.

UniFirst Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of UniFirst stock opened at $158.51 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $167.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.57. The company has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.94 and a beta of 0.82. UniFirst has a 1 year low of $150.50 and a 1 year high of $187.22.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $590.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $587.56 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that UniFirst will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is presently 21.60%.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In related news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 2,282 shares of the firm’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 transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UniFirst

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,690,940 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $309,290,000 after buying an additional 12,138 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its position in UniFirst by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 848,299 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $155,162,000 after purchasing an additional 4,078 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in UniFirst by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 678,973 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $124,193,000 after purchasing an additional 21,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in UniFirst by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 558,531 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $93,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591 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.