Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Trading Up 0.7% Following Analyst Upgrade

Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)’s stock price was up 0.7% during trading on Monday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $275.00 to $288.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Union Pacific traded as high as $247.01 and last traded at $245.92. Approximately 348,527 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 2,277,139 shares. The stock had previously closed at $244.22.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $276.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total value of $875,887.68. Following the transaction, the president now owns 64,945 shares in the company, valued at $16,014,787.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Union Pacific

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Davis Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 7,657 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 42,795 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $9,683,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 38.9% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 154,543 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $34,967,000 after purchasing an additional 43,256 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Union Pacific during the second quarter worth about $1,604,000. Finally, Cim LLC boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 7.0% during the second quarter. Cim LLC now owns 8,676 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,963,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $245.99 and its 200 day moving average is $238.83. The firm has a market cap of $149.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.05.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.03. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 42.62%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.57 earnings per share. Union Pacific’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. This is a positive change from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is presently 51.15%.

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.