Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Receives $259.35 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $263.30.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $263.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Union Pacific from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday.

Union Pacific Stock Up 0.4 %

UNP opened at $248.94 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $234.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.40. The company has a market cap of $150.92 billion, a PE ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific has a 1 year low of $218.55 and a 1 year high of $258.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Union Pacific will post 10.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,109,829,000 after acquiring an additional 217,780 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,813,686 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,146,451,000 after acquiring an additional 182,620 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,312,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,880,701,000 after acquiring an additional 106,996 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 9.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,795,993,000 after acquiring an additional 625,492 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,285,585 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,549,271,000 after acquiring an additional 143,896 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.