Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Union Pacific Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 26 analysts, with a twelve-month price target averaging $260.00.
• The company recently declared an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.38, reflecting a 2.3% yield and a payout ratio of approximately 48%.
• Union Pacific's recent earnings report showed an earnings per share of $3.03, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue also increased year-over-year by 2.4%.

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-six analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $260.00.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Loop Capital raised shares of Union Pacific from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $214.00 to $227.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised Union Pacific from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $250.00 to $251.00 in a research report on Monday, September 15th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Union Pacific

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNP. LGT Group Foundation boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 5,398 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the first quarter valued at about $988,822,000. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 6.2% during the first quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 13,264 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $3,133,000 after buying an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 10.9% in the first quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,666 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $866,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Union Pacific by 16.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,545 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,491,000 after buying an additional 1,520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company's stock.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNP opened at $235.98 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $139.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.03. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $222.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.46. Union Pacific has a 52 week low of $204.66 and a 52 week high of $256.84.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.73% and a net margin of 28.43%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Union Pacific will post 11.99 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Union Pacific's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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