Short Interest in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Drops By 19.5%

Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,510,000 shares, a decline of 19.5% from the April 30th total of 8,090,000 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Institutional Trading of Union Pacific

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNP. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the fourth quarter worth $20,683,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 128.3% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 36,798 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $8,391,000 after purchasing an additional 20,681 shares during the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 17,118 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $3,904,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 314,848 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $71,778,000 after acquiring an additional 4,336 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on UNP shares. Barclays lowered their price target on Union Pacific from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $248.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $257.74.

Union Pacific Price Performance

NYSE:UNP traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $220.48. The company had a trading volume of 2,889,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,674,295. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $220.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.39. Union Pacific has a one year low of $204.66 and a one year high of $258.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.73 by ($0.03). Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.82% and a return on equity of 41.12%. The company had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Union Pacific will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.29%.

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.