Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Stock Price

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) had its target price trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $215.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the railroad operator's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $248.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Union Pacific from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Stephens cut their price target on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $255.17.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNP traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $235.38. The company had a trading volume of 2,580,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,723,079. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $140.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. Union Pacific has a 12-month low of $204.66 and a 12-month high of $258.07. The company has a fifty day moving average of $224.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.89.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.11 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 40.80% and a net margin of 27.76%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Union Pacific will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Union Pacific's payout ratio is 48.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNP. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,927,377,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Union Pacific in the first quarter worth about $988,822,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $588,510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,482,126 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,430,581 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $3,282,305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,395,364 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,370,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,178 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company's stock.

About Union Pacific

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.