Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) Shares Purchased by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 521,916 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 8,907 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $123,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 4.4% in the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 7,761 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,834,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. Tower Bridge Advisors raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 21,092 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,983,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 1,219 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 6.2% during the first quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 13,264 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,133,000 after buying an additional 772 shares during the period. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 105.8% in the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 5,502 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after acquiring an additional 2,828 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Union Pacific from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $248.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $285.00 in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $245.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.46.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of UNP opened at $223.82 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $133.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.05. Union Pacific Corporation has a 52-week low of $204.66 and a 52-week high of $258.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $227.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $231.00. 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 (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 28.43% and a return on equity of 41.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.74 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is presently 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.