Brokerages Set Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Price Target at $255.00

Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $255.00.

Several research firms have weighed in on UNP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Union Pacific from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on Union Pacific from $235.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Union Pacific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $937,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 56,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,170,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNP. Alta Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 41.5% in the first quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC now owns 12,036 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,960,000 after buying an additional 3,529 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $785,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 84,640 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $20,816,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 884 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Advocate Group LLC lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 33,196 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $8,164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,538 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Stock Up 5.0 %

Shares of UNP opened at $243.52 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $148.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.07. Union Pacific has a one year low of $190.37 and a one year high of $258.66. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 46.87% and a net margin of 26.45%. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Union Pacific will post 11.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.71%.

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.