ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Decreases Stake in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. reduced its holdings in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,493 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 584 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNP. Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 9.9% in the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 2,954 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Union Pacific by 70.8% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,243 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,759 shares during the period. Sage Capital Advisors llc raised its stake in Union Pacific by 0.6% during the first quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 16,291 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,848,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Farmers Trust Co. raised its stake in Union Pacific by 67.0% during the first quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 16,183 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,823,000 after purchasing an additional 6,495 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 6.6% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,919 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Union Pacific stock opened at $235.14 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $222.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.63. The company has a market capitalization of $139.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.03. Union Pacific Corporation has a 1 year low of $204.66 and a 1 year high of $256.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 28.43% and a return on equity of 41.73%. The business’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on UNP shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $244.00 to $238.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $238.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $231.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Union Pacific from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $260.00.

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.