Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $158.10, but opened at $164.55. Union Pacific shares last traded at $172.38, with a volume of 315,279 shares.
A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Royal Mail from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Cascend Securities lowered shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $170.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank raised their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $197.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $177.29.
The business’s fifty day moving average price is $169.67. The company has a market cap of $123.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.72.
Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The railroad operator reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.10. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 31.74%. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 44.50%.
In related news, Director William J. Delaney III acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $174.06 per share, for a total transaction of $870,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $870,300. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert M. Knight, Jr. sold 1,380 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.01, for a total transaction of $248,413.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,090,689.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.96% of the company’s stock.
Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Camarda Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 673.7% in the 1st quarter. Camarda Financial Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Squar Milner Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 368.6% in the 1st quarter. Squar Milner Financial Services LLC now owns 164 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Mackey Komara & Dankovich LLC bought a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Joseph P. Lucia & Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Clarfeld Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.95% of the company’s stock.
About Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP)
Union Pacific Corporation, through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad Company, engages in the railroad business in the United States. It offers transportation services for agricultural products, including grains, commodities produced from grains, fertilizers, and food and beverage products; coal and sand, as well as petroleum, liquid petroleum gases, and renewables; and construction products, industrial chemicals, plastics, forest products, specialized products, metals and ores, and soda ash, as well as intermodal and finished vehicles.
