Cullen Investment Group LTD. Purchases 621 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. raised its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 48,103 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 621 shares during the period. Union Pacific makes up 1.6% of Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $10,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UNP. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,109,829,000 after purchasing an additional 217,780 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,813,686 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,146,451,000 after buying an additional 182,620 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 1.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,312,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,880,701,000 after buying an additional 106,996 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 9.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,795,993,000 after acquiring an additional 625,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,285,585 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,549,271,000 after acquiring an additional 143,896 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Union Pacific Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:UNP opened at $226.60 on Tuesday. 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 Co. has a one year low of $218.55 and a one year high of $258.66. The company has a market cap of $137.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $234.58 and a 200-day moving average of $238.85.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued 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). Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. The company had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on UNP shares. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $266.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James increased their price target on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Nine 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.80.

Union Pacific 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.