Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Buys New Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 421 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $104,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 27.0% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,884 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 39.3% in the third quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,407 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Union Pacific in the third quarter valued at about $252,000. Nicholas Company Inc. increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 27.6% in the third quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 23,130 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,710,000 after buying an additional 5,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 3.1% in the third quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 2,157 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $248.00 to $267.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Loop Capital downgraded Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $276.00 to $238.00 in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.75.

Union Pacific Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE UNP opened at $226.36 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $233.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $240.56. Union Pacific Co. has a 52 week low of $199.33 and a 52 week high of $258.66. The stock has a market cap of $138.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.97 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.52% and a return on equity of 44.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Union Pacific 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.