Ameriflex Group Inc. Boosts Position in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,095 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the quarter. Union Pacific comprises 1.3% of Ameriflex Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Ameriflex Group Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $2,545,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,105,382 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,678,575,000 after buying an additional 142,732 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Union Pacific by 5.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,949,345 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,641,715,000 after purchasing an additional 354,463 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Union Pacific by 1.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,105,784 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,206,191,000 after purchasing an additional 86,292 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Union Pacific by 10.8% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,626,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,092,893,000 after purchasing an additional 452,788 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Union Pacific in the first quarter worth $988,822,000. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup raised Union Pacific from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $251.00 in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Loop Capital raised Union Pacific from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $214.00 to $227.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $260.54.

Union Pacific Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE UNP opened at $236.60 on Friday. Union Pacific Corporation has a 12 month low of $204.66 and a 12 month high of $256.84. The stock has a market cap of $140.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $223.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.73% and a net margin of 28.43%.The firm had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.74 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.96%.

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.