Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 3.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,276 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the 1st quarter valued at $1,088,000. Stifel Financial Corp grew 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 worth $558,542,000 after buying an additional 222,318 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 19.0% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 126,369 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $31,078,000 after purchasing an additional 20,173 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 75,365 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $18,511,000 after purchasing an additional 4,089 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new position in Union Pacific during the 1st quarter worth $10,378,000. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on UNP shares. StockNews.com lowered Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Loop Capital lowered shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $276.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Monday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $875,887.68. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 64,945 shares in the company, valued at $16,014,787.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE UNP opened at $248.44 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $245.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $239.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.05. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $199.33 and a one year high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 42.62%. Union Pacific’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.57 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This is a boost from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 51.15%.

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.