Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $260.1364.

UNP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $280.00 target price on Union Pacific in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $257.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Susquehanna restated a “buy” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $285.00 target price (up from $270.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Tuesday, December 16th.

Union Pacific Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE UNP opened at $265.25 on Friday. Union Pacific has a 12 month low of $204.66 and a 12 month high of $267.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $241.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $231.17. The stock has a market cap of $157.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.98.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The railroad operator reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.92 by ($0.06). Union Pacific had a net margin of 29.12% and a return on equity of 40.89%. The firm had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.91 EPS. Union Pacific’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Union Pacific will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Union Pacific

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 0.5% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 20,606 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,741,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its position in Union Pacific by 6.2% during the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 2,418 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $556,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 7.0% in the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 5,889 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,355,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 18.4% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 44,391 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $10,214,000 after acquiring an additional 6,907 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Company Profile

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is one of the largest freight railroad companies in the United States. Its principal operating subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, has roots that trace back to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and the construction of the first transcontinental rail link completed in 1869. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and operates as a holding company for rail transportation and related services.

Union Pacific’s core business is the movement of freight by rail across an extensive rail network serving the western two‑thirds of the United States.