Whitener Capital Management Inc. Acquires 234 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Whitener Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,992 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,109,829,000 after purchasing an additional 217,780 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $3,146,451,000 after buying an additional 182,620 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,312,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,880,701,000 after buying an additional 106,996 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Union Pacific by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,795,993,000 after acquiring an additional 625,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,285,585 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,549,271,000 after acquiring an additional 143,896 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UNP. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, October 25th. 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. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Union Pacific from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.35.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE UNP opened at $233.99 on Friday. Union Pacific Co. has a 1-year low of $218.55 and a 1-year high of $258.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $233.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. Union Pacific’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 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.