Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC Trims Stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 43.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,703 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,283 shares during the period. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Trust Co raised its position in Union Pacific by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 102,213 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $23,309,000 after purchasing an additional 2,807 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at $781,000. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at $3,954,000. Miramar Capital LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 54,564 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $12,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,648 shares during the period. Finally, NTV Asset Management LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stephens reduced their target price on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays cut their price objective on Union Pacific from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $248.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Union Pacific from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.74.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNP opened at $223.17 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $220.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.64. The company has a market cap of $133.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05. Union Pacific Co. has a 1-year low of $204.66 and a 1-year high of $258.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.11 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.12% and a net margin of 27.82%. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.29%.

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.