UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Plans Dividend Increase - $0.35 Per Share

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, October 29th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of 0.35 per share by the textile maker on Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This is a positive change from UniFirst's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33.

UniFirst has raised its dividend by an average of 8.0% per year over the last three years. UniFirst has a dividend payout ratio of 17.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect UniFirst to earn $8.30 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.9%.

UniFirst Stock Down 2.4 %

NYSE UNF traded down $4.48 during trading on Thursday, hitting $179.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 54,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 85,670. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $188.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14 and a beta of 0.81. UniFirst has a 52 week low of $149.58 and a 52 week high of $200.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on UNF. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised UniFirst from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $186.25.

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.