Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Grows Stock Position in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Union Pacific Corporation by 29.8% during the first quarter, now holding 31,026 shares valued at approximately $7.33 million.
• Union Pacific reported a quarterly earnings per share of $3.03, surpassing analyst estimates and marking a 2.4% increase in revenue year-over-year, totaling $6.15 billion.
• The company recently announced a dividend increase to $1.38 per share, up from the previous $1.34, representing an annualized yield of 2.5%.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 29.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,026 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 7,119 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Union Pacific were worth $7,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNP. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Union Pacific in the first quarter valued at about $988,822,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 27,502.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,491,151 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $588,510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,482,126 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,968,658 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,133,053,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294,643 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Union Pacific by 29.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,699,109 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $873,878,000 after purchasing an additional 850,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in Union Pacific by 61,054.6% in the first quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 625,000 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $147,650,000 after purchasing an additional 623,978 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UNP shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Union Pacific from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup cut Union Pacific from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Union Pacific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Union Pacific from $257.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $258.21.

Union Pacific Stock Down 0.5%

Union Pacific stock traded down $1.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $214.87. The stock had a trading volume of 5,004,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,182,723. Union Pacific Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $204.66 and a fifty-two week high of $256.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $225.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $226.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.43 billion, a PE ratio of 18.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.03.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.73% and a net margin of 28.43%.The company had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.74 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Union Pacific's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio is 47.96%.

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.