National Bank of Canada FI Reduces Holdings in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 13.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 498,782 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 77,715 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $114,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 19.4% during the second quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 5,845 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,344,000 after purchasing an additional 949 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the second quarter worth $61,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 778,683 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $179,159,000 after buying an additional 5,506 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Union Pacific during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,166,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Union Pacific by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,995 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,069,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on UNP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup raised their target price on Union Pacific from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Union Pacific from $277.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.54.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of UNP opened at $239.90 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.99. Union Pacific Corporation has a one year low of $204.66 and a one year high of $256.84.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.24 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 42.23% and a net margin of 28.73%.The business’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.75 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 46.90%.

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.