Employees Retirement System of Texas Takes Position in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 4,760 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,095,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNP. Correct Capital Wealth Management increased its stake in Union Pacific by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Correct Capital Wealth Management now owns 10,308 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,372,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,530,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 33.0% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 47,741 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $10,984,000 after acquiring an additional 11,837 shares during the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 7.0% in the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 14,192 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,265,000 after acquiring an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2.8% during the second quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 43,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $9,999,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNP opened at $230.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $137.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $225.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.19. Union Pacific Corporation has a 52 week low of $204.66 and a 52 week high of $256.84.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.24 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 42.23% and a net margin of 28.73%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.75 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is presently 46.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Union Pacific from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. UBS Group set a $253.00 price target on Union Pacific and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $214.00 to $227.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Union Pacific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $261.63.

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.