Union Pacific’s (UNP) “Strong-Buy” Rating Reiterated at Raymond James

Raymond James reaffirmed their strong-buy rating on shares of Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $285.00 price target on the railroad operator’s stock, up from their previous price target of $265.00.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their target price 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. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $253.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Eight equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $263.30.

Union Pacific Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of UNP stock opened at $248.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $150.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific has a 12-month low of $218.55 and a 12-month high of $258.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $234.05 and a 200-day moving average of $239.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company earned $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Union Pacific will post 10.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Union Pacific

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNP. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 49.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 179,962 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $40,653,000 after purchasing an additional 59,418 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 350,945 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $74,089,000 after buying an additional 66,650 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 113.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 2,464 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 1,172.9% in the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 43,597 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $9,864,000 after buying an additional 40,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,970,669 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,350,924,000 after buying an additional 124,571 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

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.