UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.35

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 8th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of 0.35 per share by the textile maker on Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th.

UniFirst has raised its dividend by an average of 8.5% per year over the last three years. UniFirst has a dividend payout ratio of 16.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect UniFirst to earn $8.68 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.1%.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of UNF stock traded up $3.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $173.20. 212,152 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 102,238. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15 and a beta of 0.88. UniFirst has a 12-month low of $149.58 and a 12-month high of $243.70. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $197.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $197.12.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 2nd. The textile maker reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.03). UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The company had revenue of $602.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $602.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that UniFirst will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Remove Ads

UniFirst announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 8th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the textile maker to repurchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNF. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $152.00 price target (down from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $180.00.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total value of $274,024.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. The trade was a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.