Robert W. Baird Cuts UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Price Target to $197.00

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $218.00 to $197.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the textile maker's stock. Robert W. Baird's price target points to a potential upside of 21.33% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on UniFirst from $235.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $180.00.

UniFirst Price Performance

UNF traded down $2.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $162.37. The company had a trading volume of 31,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 100,074. The company has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.88. UniFirst has a 12 month low of $149.58 and a 12 month high of $243.70. The business's fifty day moving average price is $203.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $198.07.

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UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 2nd. The textile maker reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $602.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $602.81 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The company's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UniFirst will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total value of $274,024.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,361,682.25. This trade represents a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in UniFirst by 464.6% in 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. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 11,519 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 2,281 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in UniFirst in the 4th quarter valued at $255,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in UniFirst by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $62,456,000 after buying an additional 32,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in UniFirst by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,326 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $66,268,000 after buying an additional 20,056 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% 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.