UniFirst Co. (UNF) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.33 on June 28th

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 11th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of 0.33 per share by the textile maker on Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th.

UniFirst has raised its dividend by an average of 8.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 3 years. UniFirst has a payout ratio of 16.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect UniFirst to earn $8.14 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 16.2%.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of UNF opened at $161.47 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43 and a beta of 0.82. UniFirst has a 52-week low of $150.50 and a 52-week high of $187.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com lowered UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 2,282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.27, for a total transaction of $399,966.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,034 shares in the company, valued at $707,039.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNF. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 4.1% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 16,104 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,967,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 52.7% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 7,984 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,471,000 after purchasing an additional 2,755 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 9.8% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 50,022 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $9,218,000 after purchasing an additional 4,452 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 13.9% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 13,111 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in UniFirst by 1.8% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 13,967 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,574,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.