Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.15 EPS

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.15, RTT News reports. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.71 EPS.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of UNP stock traded up $11.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $246.84. 962,652 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,398,374. The firm has a market cap of $149.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $239.16. Union Pacific has a 1-year low of $218.55 and a 1-year high of $258.66.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is currently 49.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Union Pacific from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $254.00 to $247.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.35.

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.