Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $258.2083.

UNP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $271.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $259.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of UNP opened at $222.27 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average is $227.09 and its 200-day moving average is $230.32. Union Pacific has a fifty-two week low of $204.66 and a fifty-two week high of $258.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a net margin of 28.43% and a return on equity of 41.73%. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Union Pacific will post 11.99 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.57%.

Institutional Trading of Union Pacific

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNP. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,395,364 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,370,559,000 after buying an additional 1,298,178 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,105,382 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,678,575,000 after purchasing an additional 142,732 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 5.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,949,345 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,641,715,000 after purchasing an additional 354,463 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 1.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,105,784 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,206,191,000 after purchasing an additional 86,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,968,658 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,133,053,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294,643 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Company Profile

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.