Farmers Trust Co. Reduces Stock Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Farmers Trust Co. reduced its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,688 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 3,333 shares during the quarter. Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $2,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNP. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,109,829,000 after purchasing an additional 217,780 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,813,686 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,146,451,000 after purchasing an additional 182,620 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,312,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,880,701,000 after purchasing an additional 106,996 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Union Pacific by 9.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,795,993,000 after purchasing an additional 625,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,285,585 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,549,271,000 after purchasing an additional 143,896 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Price Performance

UNP stock traded up $1.17 on Wednesday, hitting $231.71. 1,235,624 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,372,986. The stock has a market cap of $140.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific Co. has a 1-year low of $218.55 and a 1-year high of $258.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $234.82 and a 200-day moving average of $238.73.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. Union Pacific’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.51 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on UNP. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $252.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $263.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $260.30.

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.