Sanctuary Advisors LLC Invests $471,000 in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,869 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $471,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,231 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Pullen Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Oak Family Advisors LLC raised its stake in UniFirst by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Oak Family Advisors LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $500,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in UniFirst by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 7,600 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,304,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in UniFirst by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,211 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on UniFirst from $185.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of UniFirst from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of UniFirst from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael Iandoli sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.30, for a total value of $132,512.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,744 shares in the company, valued at $921,759.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $193.87 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.32. UniFirst Co. has a one year low of $149.58 and a one year high of $200.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.30 and a beta of 0.81.

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.