Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) Now Covered by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Unifirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set an "underweight" rating and a $175.00 price target on the textile maker's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price suggests a potential downside of 1.82% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on UNF. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Unifirst from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 price objective on Unifirst in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Barclays set a $152.00 price objective on Unifirst and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Unifirst has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $179.50.

Unifirst Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of UNF traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $178.24. 129,219 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 109,792. Unifirst has a 52 week low of $156.34 and a 52 week high of $243.70. The company's 50 day moving average is $183.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.60. The company has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90 and a beta of 0.86.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 2nd. The textile maker reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.04. Unifirst had a return on equity of 7.35% and a net margin of 6.18%. The business had revenue of $610.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Unifirst will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Unifirst announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 8th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the textile maker to reacquire up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unifirst

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Unifirst by 7.3% in the second quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 8,923 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Unifirst in the second quarter worth about $296,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Unifirst by 10.7% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,015 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Unifirst by 34.0% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 14,757 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $2,568,000 after purchasing an additional 3,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank raised its stake in shares of Unifirst by 24.3% in the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 2,328 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. 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.