Compass Financial Group INC SD Raises Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Compass Financial Group INC SD increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 11.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,701 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the quarter. Compass Financial Group INC SD’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in Union Pacific by 7.0% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,454 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its stake in Union Pacific by 55.0% in the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 22,894 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,630,000 after buying an additional 8,119 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. raised its stake in Union Pacific by 0.5% in the first quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 55,832 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $13,731,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 0.5% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 107,291 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $26,386,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 3.8% in the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 17,070 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,198,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Union Pacific from $252.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Union Pacific from $271.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.75.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNP traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $226.11. The stock had a trading volume of 3,125,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,302,994. The company has a market capitalization of $137.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $240.54. Union Pacific Co. has a 1 year low of $199.06 and a 1 year high of $258.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 44.34% and a net margin of 26.52%. The business had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.67 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 49.62%.

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.