Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $327.7222.

UNP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Union Pacific from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Stephens raised Union Pacific to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Union Pacific from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $317.00 target price on Union Pacific and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Union Pacific Trading Down 3.4%

NYSE:UNP opened at $269.96 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $294.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $272.41. Union Pacific has a 52 week low of $215.53 and a 52 week high of $315.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $160.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.96.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 28.85% and a return on equity of 38.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Union Pacific will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This is a positive change from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,330,080 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,090,674,000 after buying an additional 1,082,285 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in Union Pacific by 92.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 20,136,349 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,658,142,000 after acquiring an additional 9,655,306 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Union Pacific by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,527,563 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,951,497,000 after acquiring an additional 64,492 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,360,668 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,552,550,000 after acquiring an additional 296,814 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,980,904 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,540,105,000 after acquiring an additional 2,267,708 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

About Union Pacific

Union Pacific Corporation is a transportation company that operates Union Pacific Railroad, one of the largest freight railroad networks in the United States. The company provides rail transportation and logistics services for a broad range of commodities, including agricultural products, automotive goods, chemicals, coal, industrial products, and intermodal shipments.

Union Pacific’s railroad network serves the western two-thirds of the United States, connecting major markets and ports across approximately 23 states.