Patron Partners LLC Buys New Shares in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Patron Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 3,471 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $944,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNP. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 40.4% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 0.5% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 20,606 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,741,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its position in Union Pacific by 1.6% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $859,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Union Pacific by 10.0% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,401,000 after buying an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Union Pacific by 7.4% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,528,426 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $351,660,000 after acquiring an additional 105,664 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 2,991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.96, for a total transaction of $789,504.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,353,447.52. This trade represents a 6.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Benchmark upped their price target on Union Pacific from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective (up from $285.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Union Pacific from $301.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Union Pacific from $304.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Union Pacific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $320.89.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of UNP stock opened at $307.97 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $286.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.60. Union Pacific Corporation has a one year low of $210.84 and a one year high of $315.99. The firm has a market cap of $182.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.72 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 38.46% and a net margin of 28.85%.The business’s revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Union Pacific Corporation will post 12.93 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 Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This is a positive change from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is currently 44.70%.

Union Pacific Profile

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.