Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE:UNP)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Loop Capital in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.
UNP has been the subject of several other research reports. Vetr downgraded Union Pacific Corp. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $91.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, August 8th. Credit Agricole SA began coverage on Union Pacific Corp. in a research note on Thursday, May 19th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $79.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. began coverage on Union Pacific Corp. in a research note on Wednesday, June 15th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “hold” rating and issued a $94.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific Corp. in a research note on Sunday, August 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Union Pacific Corp. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Friday, June 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.45.
Shares of Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE:UNP) traded down 2.60% on Friday, hitting $94.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,668,584 shares. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.33 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.76. Union Pacific Corp. has a 1-year low of $67.06 and a 1-year high of $98.28.
Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 21st. The railroad operator reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.17. Union Pacific Corp. had a return on equity of 21.29% and a net margin of 21.48%. The business earned $4.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. Union Pacific Corp.’s revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Union Pacific Corp. will post $5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 29th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Union Pacific Corp.’s payout ratio is 42.80%.
In related news, EVP Robert M. Knight, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $485,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 150,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,614,020. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert M. Knight, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.24, for a total value of $952,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 150,660 shares in the company, valued at $14,348,858.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.
A number of institutional investors recently bought and sold shares of UNP. Passport Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific Corp. by 1,688.9% in the fourth quarter. Passport Capital LLC now owns 805,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $62,951,000 after buying an additional 760,000 shares in the last quarter. Dulcet Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific Corp. during the fourth quarter worth $25,806,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific Corp. by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,552,475 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $121,404,000 after buying an additional 273,817 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific Corp. by 111.2% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 23,852 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,844,000 after buying an additional 12,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific Corp. by 316.7% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 63,228 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,944,000 after buying an additional 48,054 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.34% of the company’s stock.
About Union Pacific Corp.
Union Pacific Corporation operates through its principal operating company, Union Pacific Railroad Company. Union Pacific Railroad Company links approximately 20 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail, providing link in the supply chain. The Company’s business mix includes agricultural products, automotive, chemicals, coal, industrial products and intermodal.