Raymond James Issues Positive Forecast for Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Stock Price

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) had its target price lifted by Raymond James from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a strong-buy rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on UNP. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Union Pacific from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target 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. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Union Pacific from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $254.00 to $247.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $273.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.80.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNP opened at $225.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market cap of $136.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $234.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $238.62. Union Pacific has a twelve month low of $218.55 and a twelve month high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.51 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Union Pacific will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Union Pacific

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNP. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,109,829,000 after acquiring an additional 217,780 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,813,686 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,146,451,000 after purchasing an additional 182,620 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 106,996 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 9.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,795,993,000 after buying an additional 625,492 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% 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.