Sanctuary Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 2,869 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $471,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,695,590 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $294,066,000 after buying an additional 4,650 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in UniFirst by 3.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 737,003 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $126,418,000 after purchasing an additional 23,069 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in UniFirst by 8.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 622,048 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $106,700,000 after purchasing an additional 51,088 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in UniFirst by 25.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 173,315 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $29,729,000 after purchasing an additional 35,604 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in UniFirst by 17.6% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 144,090 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $24,716,000 after purchasing an additional 21,547 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group increased their price target 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of UniFirst from $185.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of UniFirst from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UniFirst currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael Iandoli sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,759.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of UNF stock opened at $193.87 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $187.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.32. UniFirst Co. has a 52 week low of $149.58 and a 52 week high of $200.07. The company has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 28.30 and a beta of 0.81.

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.