Hilltop National Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Hilltop National Bank lowered its position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,646 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 242 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on UNP. StockNews.com cut Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $263.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $260.30.

Union Pacific Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of UNP traded down $5.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $226.82. 661,488 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,232,140. The firm has a market cap of $137.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $238.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. Union Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $218.55 and a 12-month high of $258.66.

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

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.22%.

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.