Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $282.2105.

UNP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $289.00 price objective (up from $273.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial set a $310.00 price objective on Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Union Pacific from $289.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Union Pacific from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $274.00 price objective (up from $253.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th.

Union Pacific Stock Up 1.5%

Union Pacific stock opened at $272.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $161.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. Union Pacific has a twelve month low of $210.84 and a twelve month high of $279.70. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $262.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $248.69.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.12 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 29.20% and a return on equity of 39.58%. The business’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.70 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Union Pacific will post 12.55 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 2,991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.96, for a total value of $789,504.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,353,447.52. This represents a 6.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jennifer L. Hamann sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.70, for a total value of $549,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,492,157.40. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 34,377 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,221 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Union Pacific

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNP. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 20,606 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,741,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $859,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,528,426 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $351,660,000 after acquiring an additional 105,664 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Union Pacific

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is one of the largest freight railroad companies in the United States. Its principal operating subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, has roots that trace back to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and the construction of the first transcontinental rail link completed in 1869. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and operates as a holding company for rail transportation and related services.

Union Pacific’s core business is the movement of freight by rail across an extensive rail network serving the western two?thirds of the United States.