Viewing insider transactions for UniFirst Corporation's (NYSE:UNF ) over the last year, we see that insiders were net sellers. This means that a larger number of shares were sold by insiders in relation to shares purchased.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for UniFirst

UniFirst Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Director, Cynthia Croatti, sold US$361k worth of shares at a price of US$183 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$192. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 2.8% of Cynthia Croatti's holding. Cynthia Croatti was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

I will like UniFirst better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of UniFirst

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. UniFirst insiders own 11% of the company, currently worth about US$382m based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The UniFirst Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded UniFirst shares in the last quarter. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we don't gain confidence from the UniFirst insiders selling. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing UniFirst. For example - UniFirst has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

Of course UniFirst may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.