UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Price Target Raised to $199.00 at Robert W. Baird

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from $185.00 to $199.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the textile maker’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 13.04% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on UNF. StockNews.com raised shares of UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Barclays upped their target price on UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $181.25.

UniFirst Price Performance

UNF stock opened at $176.04 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $160.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81 and a beta of 0.85. UniFirst has a fifty-two week low of $149.58 and a fifty-two week high of $187.22.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The textile maker reported $1.22 EPS 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 company had revenue of $590.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.56 million. On average, equities analysts expect that UniFirst will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In other news, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 11,000 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.73, for a total value of $1,746,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 87,558 shares in the company, valued at $13,898,081.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.73, for a total value of $1,746,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 87,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,898,081.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael A. Croatti sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total transaction of $304,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $971,243. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,033 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,882 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNF. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in UniFirst by 69.7% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 414 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in UniFirst in the fourth quarter worth $80,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst during the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 3rd quarter worth about $99,000. 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.