World Equity Group Inc. Decreases Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

World Equity Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 77.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,847 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 6,465 shares during the quarter. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNP. Silver Oak Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Union Pacific in the 4th quarter worth $219,000. Allegheny Financial Group LTD raised its stake in Union Pacific by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 10,885 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,674,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated purchased a new position in Union Pacific in the 4th quarter worth $238,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in Union Pacific in the 1st quarter worth $1,088,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Union Pacific by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,273,959 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $558,542,000 after acquiring an additional 222,318 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNP. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays reduced their target price on Union Pacific from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $280.00 price target (up from $275.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Union Pacific from $271.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.79.

Union Pacific Price Performance

UNP stock traded up $0.82 during trading on Friday, hitting $244.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,951,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,282,628. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Union Pacific Co. has a twelve month low of $199.33 and a twelve month high of $258.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.33, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $232.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.03. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 42.62% and a net margin of 26.90%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.57 EPS. Union Pacific’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. This is a positive change from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total value of $875,887.68. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 64,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,014,787.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.28% 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.