West Paces Advisors Inc. Buys 291 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

West Paces Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 17.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,960 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. West Paces Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. EnRich Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. PrairieView Partners LLC bought a new position in Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its position in Union Pacific by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 161 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Union Pacific from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on Union Pacific from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $248.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Union Pacific from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $259.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.74.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of UNP opened at $224.05 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $219.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $232.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. Union Pacific Co. has a 12 month low of $204.66 and a 12 month high of $258.07. The company has a market cap of $133.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 48.29%.

Union Pacific 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.