Loop Capital Upgrades Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) to Hold

Loop Capital upgraded shares of Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $227.00 price target on the railroad operator’s stock, up from their prior price target of $214.00.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Union Pacific from $244.00 to $238.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Baird R W raised Union Pacific to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Union Pacific from $271.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.38.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of Union Pacific stock opened at $220.43 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $222.94 and a 200 day moving average of $225.28. Union Pacific has a 12 month low of $204.66 and a 12 month high of $256.84. The firm has a market cap of $130.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.73% and a net margin of 28.43%.The company had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Union Pacific will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,856,340,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,105,382 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,678,575,000 after acquiring an additional 142,732 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,949,345 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,641,715,000 after acquiring an additional 354,463 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,398,715 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,472,217,000 after acquiring an additional 46,436 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,105,784 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,206,191,000 after acquiring an additional 86,292 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.