UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) recently disclosed a new $100 million share repurchase authorization. The company is also set to release third-quarter earnings results before the opening bell on Wednesday, July 2.

Analysts expect the Wilmington, Massachusetts-based company to report quarterly earnings at $2.09 per share, down from $2.20 per share in the year-ago period. UniFirst projects to report quarterly revenue of $614.5 million, compared to $603.33 million a year earlier, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

With the recent buzz around UniFirst, some investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company's dividends. As of now, UniFirst offers an annual dividend yield of 0.74%. That’s a quarterly dividend amount of 35 cents per share ($1.40 a year).

To figure out how to earn $500 monthly from UniFirst, start with a yearly target of $6,000 ($500 x 12 months).

Next, we take this amount and divide it by UniFirst's $1.40 dividend: $6,000 / $1.40 = 4,286 shares.

So, an investor would need to own approximately $806,711 worth of UniFirst, or 4,286 shares to generate a monthly dividend income of $500.

Assuming a more conservative goal of $100 monthly ($1,200 annually), we do the same calculation: $1,200 / $1.40 = 857 shares, or $161,305 to generate a monthly dividend income of $100.

Note that dividend yield can change on a rolling basis, since the stock price fluctuates over time.

The dividend yield is calculated by dividing the annual dividend payment by the current stock price. As the stock price changes, the dividend yield will also change.

For example, if a stock pays an annual dividend of $2 and its current price is $50, its dividend yield would be 4%. However, if the stock price increases to $60, the dividend yield would decrease to 3.33% ($2/$60).

Conversely, if the stock price decreases to $40, the dividend yield would increase to 5% ($2/$40).

Further, the dividend payment itself can also change over time, which can also impact the dividend yield. If a company increases its dividend payment, the dividend yield will increase even if the stock price remains the same. Similarly, if a company decreases its dividend payment, the dividend yield will decrease.

UNF Price Action: Shares of UniFirst gained by 1% to close at $188.22 on Monday.

Read More:

• 5 Stocks In The Spotlight: Wall Street’s Most Accurate Analysts Weigh In

Image: Shutterstock