Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Stock Price Down 0.6% After Analyst Downgrade

Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)’s stock price traded down 0.6% on Monday after BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on the stock from $280.00 to $275.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Union Pacific traded as low as $243.11 and last traded at $243.93. 746,694 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 2,274,273 shares. The stock had previously closed at $245.39.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on UNP. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.79.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total transaction of $875,887.68. Following the sale, the president now owns 64,945 shares in the company, valued at $16,014,787.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,088,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,273,959 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $558,542,000 after acquiring an additional 222,318 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 19.0% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 126,369 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $31,078,000 after acquiring an additional 20,173 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the 1st quarter worth about $10,378,000. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Union Pacific in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,298,000. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.6 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.99. The stock has a market cap of $148.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.03. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 42.62% and a net margin of 26.90%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.57 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. This is a positive change from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is presently 51.15%.

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.