Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Shares Gap Up to $231.98

Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $231.98, but opened at $240.24. Union Pacific shares last traded at $242.74, with a volume of 1,104,255 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on UNP. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $231.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $282.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.00.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $148.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $244.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.62.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 46.87% and a net margin of 26.45%. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $937,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 56,682 shares in the company, valued at $14,170,500. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Union Pacific

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,832,127,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 108.9% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,128,575 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $840,702,000 after buying an additional 2,151,893 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Union Pacific by 62.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,496,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,119,295,000 after buying an additional 2,119,382 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,851,767 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,682,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Union Pacific during the fourth quarter worth approximately $293,162,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

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.