Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Buys 90,722 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,826,860 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 90,722 shares during the quarter. Union Pacific accounts for 1.8% of Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.30% of Union Pacific worth $413,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $767,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 86.8% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,589 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter worth $518,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,555 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trillium Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 82.5% in the fourth quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 5,468 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 2,472 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of Union Pacific stock opened at $249.12 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $243.00 and a 200 day moving average of $239.19. Union Pacific Co. has a 12 month low of $199.33 and a 12 month high of $258.66. The firm has a market cap of $151.76 billion, a PE ratio of 23.77, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.03. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 42.62% and a net margin of 26.90%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is 51.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total transaction of $875,887.68. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 64,945 shares in the company, valued at $16,014,787.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNP. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Thursday. Loop Capital cut Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $276.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Daiwa America cut Union Pacific from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.79.

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.