American Trust Lowers Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

American Trust lowered its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,639 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 54 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Trust Co lifted its position in Union Pacific by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 102,213 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $23,309,000 after purchasing an additional 2,807 shares during the period. abrdn plc lifted its position in Union Pacific by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 415,874 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $94,588,000 after purchasing an additional 35,414 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at about $781,000. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,954,000. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Union Pacific by 128.3% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 36,798 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $8,391,000 after purchasing an additional 20,681 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $260.00 to $244.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.50.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Union Pacific stock opened at $222.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Union Pacific Co. has a 1 year low of $204.66 and a 1 year high of $258.07. The company has a market capitalization of $132.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $223.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.26.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($0.03). Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.12% and a net margin of 27.82%. The company had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is currently 48.29%.

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.