RFG Advisory LLC Purchases 4,518 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

RFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 68.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,148 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 4,518 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC's holdings in Union Pacific were worth $2,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 17.7% during the first quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,210 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,837 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 25,207 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $5,955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732 shares during the last quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 30.6% during the 1st quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 23,132 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $5,465,000 after buying an additional 5,426 shares during the period. Graves Light Lenhart Wealth Inc. grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Graves Light Lenhart Wealth Inc. now owns 1,554 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sweeney & Michel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the first quarter valued at about $626,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Union Pacific from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $260.00 to $244.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays cut their target price on Union Pacific from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stephens cut their price target on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Union Pacific to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $257.74.

Union Pacific Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of UNP stock traded up $2.64 on Friday, hitting $223.29. The stock had a trading volume of 1,742,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,670,785. Union Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $204.66 and a 12-month high of $258.07. The stock has a market cap of $133.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day moving average of $220.53 and a 200 day moving average of $232.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.11 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.12% and a net margin of 27.82%. Union Pacific's quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.29%.

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.