Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNPGet Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $259.25.

A number of analysts have commented on UNP shares. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

Get Our Latest Report on Union Pacific

Insider Buying and Selling at Union Pacific

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total value of $875,887.68. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 64,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,014,787.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Union Pacific

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNP. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Union Pacific by 272.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,678,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $379,689,000 after buying an additional 1,227,318 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in Union Pacific by 35.3% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,118,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,012,857,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,625 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Union Pacific by 7.6% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,370,752 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,812,689,000 after acquiring an additional 518,985 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 186.4% during the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 704,769 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $159,461,000 after purchasing an additional 458,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the first quarter valued at about $96,945,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNP opened at $245.27 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $149.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.05. Union Pacific has a 52 week low of $199.97 and a 52 week high of $258.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $245.88 and a 200 day moving average of $238.55.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNPGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 42.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Union Pacific will post 11.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $1.34 per share. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is 50.33%.

Union Pacific Company Profile

(Get Free Report

Union Pacific Corporation, through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad Company, operates in the railroad business in the United States. The company offers transportation services for grain and grain products, fertilizers, food and refrigerated products, and coal and renewables to grain processors, animal feeders, ethanol producers, renewable biofuel producers, and other agricultural users; and construction products, industrial chemicals, plastics, forest products, specialized products, metals and ores, petroleum, liquid petroleum gases, soda ash, and sand, as well as finished automobiles, automotive parts, and merchandise in intermodal containers.

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Analyst Recommendations for Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP)

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