Tufton Capital Management Has $815,000 Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Tufton Capital Management lessened its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,319 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 93 shares during the quarter. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNP. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, IMA Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on UNP. StockNews.com downgraded Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Union Pacific from $235.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Union Pacific from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Union Pacific from $248.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.48.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $937,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 56,682 shares in the company, valued at $14,170,500. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of UNP traded up $1.43 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $230.66. The stock had a trading volume of 510,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,288,602. Union Pacific Co. has a 12 month low of $190.37 and a 12 month high of $258.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average is $246.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.55.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 46.87% and a net margin of 26.45%. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.67 EPS. Union Pacific’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.01 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 49.71%.

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.