Conning Inc. Grows Stake in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Conning Inc. raised its stake in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 6.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 156,890 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 9,412 shares during the period. Union Pacific comprises approximately 1.2% of Conning Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $36,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 1.4% in the second quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 15,927 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,664,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 5.7% during the second quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 796,347 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $183,494,000 after buying an additional 43,000 shares during the last quarter. Croban boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% during the second quarter. Croban now owns 4,515 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Acima Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 629.9% during the second quarter. Acima Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $853,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 37.0% during the second quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 5,897 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after buying an additional 1,594 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Union Pacific Stock Down 2.6%

UNP stock opened at $225.54 on Friday. Union Pacific Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $204.66 and a fifty-two week high of $256.84. The business’s 50-day moving average is $224.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $133.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.07.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.74 earnings per share. Union Pacific’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is 47.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital raised Union Pacific from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $214.00 to $227.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Union Pacific from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $257.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group set a $253.00 price objective on Union Pacific and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $261.08.

About Union Pacific

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.