Brokerages Set Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Price Target at $259.80

Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $259.80.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on UNP shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $252.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI downgraded Union Pacific from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $254.00 to $247.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Union Pacific Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Union Pacific stock opened at $229.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The firm has a market cap of $138.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.05. Union Pacific has a twelve month low of $218.55 and a twelve month high of $258.66. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $234.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.44.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.51 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific will post 10.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is currently 49.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Union Pacific

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 103.1% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,581 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $8,770,000 after acquiring an additional 18,060 shares in the last quarter. Shellback Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 28.2% in the 2nd quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 20,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,525,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares during the period. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the third quarter valued at approximately $834,000. Maj Invest Holding A S increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.3% during the third quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S now owns 676,098 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $166,645,000 after buying an additional 2,202 shares during the period. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Union Pacific in the third quarter worth approximately $2,923,000. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

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.