UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Downgraded to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Separately, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.25.

UniFirst Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE UNF opened at $200.87 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 26.11 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.84. UniFirst has a 12-month low of $149.58 and a 12-month high of $208.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In related news, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total transaction of $1,814,215.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,320,968.30. The trade was a 35.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total value of $113,337.96. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,086,075. The trade was a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UniFirst

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 1,627.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 190 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in UniFirst by 60.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in UniFirst by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the 2nd quarter valued at $92,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of UniFirst by 291.6% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is 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.