Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Lowers Holdings in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP)

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its position in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,379 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 79 shares during the quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 102,213 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $23,309,000 after purchasing an additional 2,807 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter worth $781,000. SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 13,264 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,133,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,666 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $866,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,545 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on UNP shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Union Pacific from $257.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Union Pacific in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $231.00 target price on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised 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. Stephens reduced their target price on 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, Barclays lowered Union Pacific from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.21.

Union Pacific Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Union Pacific stock opened at $225.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Union Pacific Corporation has a 1-year low of $204.66 and a 1-year high of $258.07. The business has a 50-day moving average of $227.07 and a 200-day moving average of $230.66. The company has a market capitalization of $133.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This is a positive change from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.57%.

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.