Baird Financial Group Inc. Increases Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,922,949 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,083 shares during the period. Union Pacific comprises approximately 0.8% of Baird Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of Union Pacific worth $438,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. abrdn plc increased its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 415,874 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $94,588,000 after acquiring an additional 35,414 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 179,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $44,348,000 after purchasing an additional 4,939 shares in the last quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 277,267 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $63,185,000 after buying an additional 53,946 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 61.5% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 10,500 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,394,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnbrook Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the 4th quarter valued at $3,954,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on Union Pacific from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.86.

Union Pacific Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of UNP stock opened at $218.34 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $228.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.06. 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.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 48.29%.

About Union Pacific

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.