Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $261.40.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UNP. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on Union Pacific from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Union Pacific from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNP opened at $249.27 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $151.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. Union Pacific has a 1-year low of $218.55 and a 1-year high of $258.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $236.34 and its 200-day moving average is $240.45.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.12% and a net margin of 27.82%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.71 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Union Pacific will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.00, for a total transaction of $1,636,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,632,388. This represents a 19.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,875,000.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 64,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,240,000. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,109,829,000 after buying an additional 217,780 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,430,581 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,282,305,000 after buying an additional 1,616,895 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,298,178 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter worth $1,927,377,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,686,387 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,752,804,000 after acquiring an additional 363,937 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, 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.