MCF Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,414 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UNP. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Union Pacific by 272.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,678,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $379,689,000 after buying an additional 1,227,318 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 19,878.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 896,040 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $220,856,000 after acquiring an additional 891,555 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 9.3% in 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 period. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in Union Pacific by 2,025.4% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 546,236 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $134,636,000 after purchasing an additional 520,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 170.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 736,246 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $181,470,000 after purchasing an additional 464,477 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UNP. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Union Pacific from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Union Pacific from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $254.00 to $247.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Nine equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.35.

Union Pacific Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:UNP opened at $236.73 on Wednesday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.10. Union Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $218.55 and a 12-month high of $258.66. The firm has a market cap of $143.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.74, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.06.

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). Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. The firm had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.51 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.96 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 49.22%.

Union Pacific 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.