Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $1.38

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 16th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of 1.38 per share by the railroad operator on Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is a 3.0% increase from Union Pacific's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34.

Union Pacific has a payout ratio of 41.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Union Pacific to earn $13.11 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 40.9%.

Union Pacific Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:UNP traded down $2.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $224.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,793,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,756,556. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $227.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $231.17. Union Pacific has a 1 year low of $204.66 and a 1 year high of $258.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.73.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.73 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.11 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 40.80% and a net margin of 27.76%. Union Pacific's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. Research analysts expect that Union Pacific will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UNP shares. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $231.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $257.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Union Pacific stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 40.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,312 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 665 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC's holdings in Union Pacific were worth $546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.