UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.38

UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3750 per share by the textile maker on Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This is a 2.7% increase from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.3650.

UniFirst has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 7 consecutive years. UniFirst has a payout ratio of 17.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

UniFirst Price Performance

UNF opened at $235.95 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.26 and a beta of 0.65. UniFirst has a 1 year low of $151.51 and a 1 year high of $306.67. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $261.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $261.50.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The textile maker reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.04 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $645.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $634.40 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 4.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UniFirst will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UNF. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of UniFirst in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research raised UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.67.

About UniFirst

UniFirst Corporation provides uniform rental and workplace services to businesses across a range of industries. Its programs include workwear selection, laundering, inspection, repair, and scheduled delivery, as well as sales of uniforms and related apparel. The company also supplies facility services such as floor mats, towels, restroom products, and first aid and safety supplies. Through specialized operations, UniFirst provides cleanroom garments and related services for businesses that require controlled environments.