Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $1.34

Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 27th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of 1.34 per share by the railroad operator on Monday, December 30th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%.

Union Pacific has raised its dividend payment by an average of 10.3% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 18 consecutive years. Union Pacific has a payout ratio of 44.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Union Pacific to earn $12.06 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 44.4%.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNP traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $245.23. 1,550,181 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,319,507. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $240.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $238.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.67 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific has a 12 month low of $218.55 and a 12 month high of $258.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. Union Pacific’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Union Pacific will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNP. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $263.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.80.

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.