UniFirst (NYSE:UNF – Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.
Several other brokerages have also issued reports on UNF. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. UBS Group set a $262.00 target price on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.67.
Read Our Latest Analysis on UniFirst
UniFirst Trading Up 0.9%
Shares of UNF opened at $281.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.82 and a beta of 0.60. UniFirst has a 12 month low of $147.66 and a 12 month high of $306.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $269.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $270.03.
UniFirst (NYSE:UNF – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The textile maker reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $645.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $634.40 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.23 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that UniFirst will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Institutional Trading of UniFirst
A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in UniFirst by 1.7% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,212 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $805,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 882 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 94.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,177 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 1,056 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of UniFirst by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,851 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of UniFirst by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,085 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $154,467,000 after acquiring an additional 16,208 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.
About UniFirst
UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) provides workplace uniforms, workwear rental, and textile services to businesses and organizations. Its offerings include uniform rental and laundering, work garments, protective apparel, floor mats, restroom supplies, first-aid products, and other workplace service programs.
The company also provides specialized apparel and services for industries with particular cleanliness or safety requirements, including healthcare, manufacturing, food processing, and cleanroom environments.
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