BCS Wealth Management Invests $631,000 in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

BCS Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 2,767 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $631,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNP. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 272.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,678,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $379,689,000 after acquiring an additional 1,227,318 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 19,878.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 896,040 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $220,856,000 after purchasing an additional 891,555 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Union Pacific by 9.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,795,993,000 after purchasing an additional 625,492 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 2,025.4% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 546,236 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $134,636,000 after purchasing an additional 520,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 170.9% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 736,246 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $181,470,000 after purchasing an additional 464,477 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $252.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.80.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of UNP opened at $226.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $234.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.85. The stock has a market cap of $137.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific Co. has a 1-year low of $218.55 and a 1-year high of $258.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 49.22%.

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.