Wasatch Advisors LP Lowers Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Wasatch Advisors LP lessened its holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 10.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,900 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $5,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Silver Oak Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at $219,000. Allegheny Financial Group LTD grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 10,885 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,674,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the fourth quarter valued at about $238,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 87,905 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $21,596,000 after buying an additional 28,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 48.3% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 18,512 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,547,000 after buying an additional 6,031 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $248.00 to $267.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Union Pacific in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.92.

Union Pacific Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of UNP stock traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $225.50. 1,530,522 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,304,113. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $233.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $240.20. Union Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $199.33 and a 12-month high of $258.66. The stock has a market cap of $137.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.52, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.52% and a return on equity of 44.34%. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.22 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 49.62%.

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.