Equitable Trust Co. Reduces Holdings in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Equitable Trust Co. reduced its position in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 24,244 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 184 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $5,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Pines Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Union Pacific by 1.7% during the second quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,520 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Union Pacific by 1.1% during the first quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 4,004 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Five Oceans Advisors lifted its position in Union Pacific by 3.9% during the second quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 1,183 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc lifted its position in Union Pacific by 1.6% during the first quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 2,963 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $700,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co lifted its position in Union Pacific by 5.1% during the first quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,004 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UNP. Barclays lowered shares of Union Pacific from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Union Pacific to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $231.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $261.58.

Union Pacific Stock Up 0.2%

UNP stock opened at $225.81 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Union Pacific Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $204.66 and a fifty-two week high of $256.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $224.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.25. The stock has a market cap of $133.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

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

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.