Is UNF a good stock to buy? We found a bullish thesis on UniFirst Corporation in The Mispricing Desk Substack. In this article we will summarize the bulls’ thesis about UNF. UniFirst Corporation stock was trading at $264.07 as of June 8.th. UNF’s trailing and forward P/E were 36.57 and 38.61 respectively, according to Yahoo Finance.
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UniFirst Corporation offers work uniforms and protective work clothing in the United States and internationally. UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) emerged as an attractive merger arbitrage opportunity following Cintas Corporation’s (NASDAQ: CTAS) agreement to acquire the company in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $5.3 billion. Under the signed terms, each UNF share will receive $155.00 in cash plus 0.7720 CTAS shares, which at current prices implies an actual transaction value of approximately $283.90 per share.
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However, UNF recently traded at $252.41, leaving a substantial 12.5% ​​spread even though the market is already adjusting to CTAS stock’s decline since the original announcement. The cleanest professional expression of the trade is a long UNF combined with a short position of 0.7720 shares of CTAS, making the setup a net outlay of $123.51 versus a contractual cash claim of $155.00 if the transaction closes on current terms.
The market appears to be pricing the spread as if the antitrust risk is likely fatal rather than simply time-consuming or costly. However, the risk of shareholder approval is materially reduced, as Cintas has already obtained voting agreements representing approximately two-thirds of UniFirst’s voting power, while both parties built significant termination fees into the merger agreement, indicating serious preparation for regulatory scrutiny.
The April 24, 2026 S-4 preliminary filing further advanced the process beyond announcement speculation toward a defined regulatory and shareholder timeline. Therefore, investors willing to absorb antitrust and process uncertainty may be looking for an unusually attractive risk/reward setup, particularly as continued operational stability and incremental regulatory progress could narrow the spread materially over time.
Previously, we covered a bullish thesis on Kelly Services, Inc. (KELYA) by Unceived Value Degen and Value Don’t Lie in April 2025, which highlighted its business transformation into higher-margin staffing segments and a rerating opportunity driven by undervaluation despite declining revenue. The KELYA share price has depreciated by approximately 10.54% since our coverage. Mispricing Desk shares a similar view, but emphasizes a merger arbitrage-driven spread in UniFirst (UNF), focusing on deal mechanics rather than operational improvement.