Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $325.72.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective (up from $285.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $326.00 price objective on Union Pacific in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “cautious” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, July 24th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Union Pacific

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Perpetual Ltd boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 6.1% in the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 669,328 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $182,144,000 after buying an additional 38,694 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp raised its position in Union Pacific by 55.6% during the third quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 1,540 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its position in Union Pacific by 4.0% during the third quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 7,394 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,012,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Eastern Bank lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 214,567 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $58,390,000 after acquiring an additional 5,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $555,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Price Performance

UNP opened at $286.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $169.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.95. Union Pacific has a fifty-two week low of $215.53 and a fifty-two week high of $315.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $287.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $276.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.72 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 38.46% and a net margin of 28.85%. Union Pacific’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Union Pacific will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.99%.

About Union Pacific

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is a freight railroad company that operates one of the largest rail networks in North America. Through its principal subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, the company provides transportation services for businesses across the western two-thirds of the United States.

Union Pacific transports a broad range of commodities and manufactured goods, including agricultural products, automotive vehicles and parts, chemicals, coal, industrial products, forest products, and intermodal containers.