Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Shares Bought by Ellsworth Advisors LLC

Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,654 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Union Pacific by 103.1% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,581 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $8,770,000 after buying an additional 18,060 shares during the last quarter. Shellback Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 28.2% in the 2nd quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 20,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,525,000 after acquiring an additional 4,400 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $834,000. Maj Invest Holding A S increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S now owns 676,098 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $166,645,000 after purchasing an additional 2,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 179,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $44,348,000 after purchasing an additional 4,939 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UNP. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Union Pacific from $273.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $252.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $262.00 to $253.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered shares of Union Pacific from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $254.00 to $247.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Nine research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.35.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Union Pacific stock opened at $233.99 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $233.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $238.95. Union Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $218.55 and a 12-month high of $258.66. 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 $141.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.78 by ($0.03). Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. The firm had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.22%.

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.