Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Increases Dividend to $1.34 Per Share

Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 17th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of 1.34 per share by the railroad operator on Monday, September 30th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30.

Union Pacific has increased its dividend by an average of 10.3% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 18 years. Union Pacific has a payout ratio of 42.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Union Pacific to earn $12.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 43.8%.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNP opened at $252.60 on Thursday. Union Pacific has a 1 year low of $199.33 and a 1 year high of $258.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $235.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.93.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 42.62% and a net margin of 26.90%. Union Pacific’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.57 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Union Pacific will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on UNP shares. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Loop Capital lowered shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $276.00 to $238.00 in a report on Monday, June 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Union Pacific

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total value of $875,887.68. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 64,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,014,787.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.