UniFirst Corporation (UNF) To Go Ex-Dividend on September 4th

UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, July 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of 0.365 per share by the textile maker on Friday, September 25th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th.

UniFirst has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 7 years. UniFirst has a dividend payout ratio of 16.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect UniFirst to earn $8.13 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.46 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.0%.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of UNF stock opened at $277.23 on Wednesday. UniFirst has a 1 year low of $147.66 and a 1 year high of $306.67. The business’s fifty day moving average is $283.60 and its 200-day moving average is $266.68. The stock has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 43.73 and a beta of 0.61.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 1st. The textile maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.84). The firm had revenue of $634.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $627.66 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 6.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that UniFirst will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UniFirst

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNF. Tweedy Browne Co LLC purchased a new position in UniFirst in the 4th quarter worth about $19,687,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in UniFirst by 31.9% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 18,267 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $4,596,000 after buying an additional 4,418 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in UniFirst during the second quarter valued at about $580,008,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst in the second quarter worth about $17,165,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 16.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 151,925 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $38,223,000 after buying an additional 20,956 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UniFirst Company Profile

UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) is a leading provider of customized uniform rental and facility service programs in North America and Europe. The company specializes in the rental, laundering and maintenance of workwear, corporate apparel and protective garments for a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, automotive, hospitality, healthcare and food processing. UniFirst also offers a suite of facility service products such as entrance mats, restroom supplies, wipers, mops and hygienic services designed to help customers maintain clean and safe environments.

In addition to its core uniform rental business, UniFirst has expanded its product portfolio to include safety and first-responder gear, flame-resistant clothing, high-visibility apparel and personal protective equipment (PPE).