Stephens Inc. AR Decreases Position in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP)

Stephens Inc. AR lessened its holdings in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,106 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 609 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $10,892,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allred Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC now owns 8,349 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,904,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Palogic Value Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Palogic Value Management L.P. now owns 2,823 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,309 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 161 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 2,922 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Union Pacific from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $259.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $271.00 price target (up from $267.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Susquehanna raised shares of Union Pacific from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and upped their price target for the company from $245.00 to $260.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.63.

Union Pacific Price Performance

NYSE UNP opened at $235.01 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $231.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.05. Union Pacific Corporation has a 52-week low of $204.66 and a 52-week high of $258.07.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.11 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 40.80% and a net margin of 27.76%. Union Pacific’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is presently 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.