IMS Capital Management Buys Shares of 2,456 Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Key Points

• IMS Capital Management acquired 2,456 shares of Union Pacific Corporation, valued at approximately $565,000, during the second quarter.
• Institutional ownership of Union Pacific is significant, with institutional investors holding 80.38% of the company's stock.
• Union Pacific recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.38 per share, reflecting a yield of 2.4% and a payout ratio of 47.96%.

IMS Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,456 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $565,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Union Pacific during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $988,822,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 27,502.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,491,151 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $588,510,000 after buying an additional 2,482,126 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 29.8% during 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 buying an additional 850,025 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 61,054.6% in the 1st quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 625,000 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $147,650,000 after acquiring an additional 623,978 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Union Pacific in the 4th quarter worth $127,825,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Union Pacific from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $231.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $251.00 in a research note on Monday, September 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital raised Union Pacific from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $214.00 to $227.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $259.38.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of UNP stock opened at $227.78 on Wednesday. Union Pacific Corporation has a one year low of $204.66 and a one year high of $256.84. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $222.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.72. The firm has a market cap of $135.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 28.43% and a return on equity of 41.73%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Union Pacific's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.96%.

Union Pacific 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.

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