StockNews.com Upgrades UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) to “Strong-Buy”

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

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

UniFirst Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE:UNF opened at $196.07 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23 and a beta of 0.82. UniFirst has a fifty-two week low of $149.58 and a fifty-two week high of $205.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UniFirst news, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. This trade represents a 35.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 1,627.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 190 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 60.5% during 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. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 69.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 414 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in UniFirst by 16.5% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in UniFirst during the second quarter worth about $92,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

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.