Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) Receives $283.11 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $286.8889.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UNP. Raymond James Financial set a $310.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $256.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $285.00 price objective (up from $278.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Union Pacific news, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 2,991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.96, for a total transaction of $789,504.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,353,447.52. This represents a 6.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jennifer L. Hamann sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.70, for a total transaction of $549,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 114,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,492,157.40. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,378 shares of company stock valued at $8,781,595. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Union Pacific

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 40.4% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 20,606 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,741,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $859,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,528,426 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $351,660,000 after purchasing an additional 105,664 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNP traded up $3.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $285.60. 167,081 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,161,752. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.96. Union Pacific has a 52 week low of $210.84 and a 52 week high of $285.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $267.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $252.36.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.07. Union Pacific had a net margin of 29.20% and a return on equity of 39.58%. The company had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Union Pacific will post 12.55 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.47%.

About Union Pacific

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is one of the largest freight railroad companies in the United States. Its principal operating subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, has roots that trace back to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and the construction of the first transcontinental rail link completed in 1869. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and operates as a holding company for rail transportation and related services.

Union Pacific’s core business is the movement of freight by rail across an extensive rail network serving the western two‑thirds of the United States.