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

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) had its price objective decreased by Robert W. Baird from $218.00 to $197.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the textile maker’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $235.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UniFirst presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.00.

UniFirst Stock Performance

NYSE UNF opened at $163.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.89 and a beta of 0.88. UniFirst has a 52 week low of $149.58 and a 52 week high of $243.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $204.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $198.18.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 2nd. The textile maker reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.03). UniFirst had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The company had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $602.81 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that UniFirst will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is 17.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total transaction of $274,024.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. The trade was a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,708,242 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $292,263,000 after purchasing an additional 6,393 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in UniFirst by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 763,689 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $130,660,000 after purchasing an additional 15,517 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,326 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $66,268,000 after acquiring an additional 20,056 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in UniFirst by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $62,456,000 after buying an additional 32,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 349,298 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $69,401,000 after purchasing an additional 4,136 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.