Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Citigroup

Citigroup began coverage on shares of Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) in a report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $264.00 price objective on the railroad operator’s stock.

UNP has been the topic of several other reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Union Pacific from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Union Pacific from an outperform rating to an inline rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $254.00 to $247.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $259.50.

Union Pacific Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Union Pacific stock opened at $242.31 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $245.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.59. Union Pacific has a 52-week low of $199.97 and a 52-week high of $258.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.05.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 42.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Union Pacific will post 11.06 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This is a boost from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is 50.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total transaction of $875,887.68. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 64,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,014,787.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Union Pacific

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Richardson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Union Pacific by 211.4% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 109 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors 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.