Meridian Financial Partners LLC Acquires 85 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Meridian Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 85 shares during the quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chesapeake Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.5% in the second quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 8,202 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,856,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 3.4% in the third quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,357 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Red Mountain Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC now owns 2,276 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 3.6% during the second quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE UNP opened at $229.25 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $234.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.87. Union Pacific Co. has a fifty-two week low of $218.55 and a fifty-two week high of $258.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $138.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $273.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.80.

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.