Analysts Set Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) PT at $258.21

Shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $258.2083.

UNP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lowered shares of Union Pacific from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $270.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $250.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $238.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $271.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st.

Institutional Trading of Union Pacific

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Union Pacific in the second quarter worth about $1,856,340,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,105,382 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,678,575,000 after acquiring an additional 142,732 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in 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 worth $1,641,715,000 after buying an additional 354,463 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 worth $1,472,217,000 after buying an additional 46,436 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in 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 worth $1,206,191,000 after purchasing an additional 86,292 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Union Pacific Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of UNP opened at $215.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Union Pacific has a 1 year low of $204.66 and a 1 year high of $256.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $226.27. The firm has a market cap of $128.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.03.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a net margin of 28.43% and a return on equity of 41.73%. The business had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Union Pacific will post 11.99 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.96%.

About Union Pacific

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.