Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $275.21 and last traded at $275.2140, with a volume of 911234 shares. The stock had previously closed at $270.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Union Pacific from $289.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 target price (up from $260.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial set a $310.00 price objective on Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Union Pacific from $256.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. 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 research note on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.47.

Union Pacific Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $157.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $252.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $243.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 29.20% and a return on equity of 39.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Union Pacific Corporation will post 12.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 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 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 1,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.93, for a total transaction of $469,625.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenyatta G. Rocker sold 27,387 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.76, for a total transaction of $7,442,691.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 61,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,605,079.52. This trade represents a 30.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,386 shares of company stock worth $8,461,716. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Union Pacific

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,329,262 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $13,724,045,000 after buying an additional 659,378 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,330,080 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,090,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082,285 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 92.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 20,136,349 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,658,142,000 after purchasing an additional 9,655,306 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,360,668 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,552,550,000 after purchasing an additional 296,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,463,071 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,509,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,084,808 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

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.