Vestis, UniFirst started at overweight at Barclays on gap with Cintas
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Barclays has initiated coverage of both Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) and UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) at equal weight noting that both uniform companies have a ways to go before they can catch up to the "gold standard" in the industry, Cintas (CTAS).
The firm's price target on Vestis (VSTS) and UniFirst (UNF) are, respectively, $17 (~9% upside based on Thursday's close) and $160 (~1% upside).

Analyst Manav Patnaik noted that while some investors might prefer Vestis (VSTS) over UniFirst (UNF) given changes in its executive team, UniFirst (UNF) has a similar financial profile, is mostly non-union, has no debt and "is much more strategically attractive in the continued consolidation of the uniform industry."
Still, both companies have a lot to do if they want to start nipping at the heels of Cintas (CTAS) which he noted has three to five times revenues, is over 1K basis points ahead in margins, and is not sitting idly by.


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