BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Stock Price

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) had its target price increased by BMO Capital Markets from $275.00 to $277.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays increased their target price on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, October 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.57.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNP opened at $248.94 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $233.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.22. Union Pacific has a twelve month low of $218.55 and a twelve month high of $258.66. The company has a market capitalization of $150.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Union Pacific will post 10.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is currently 49.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Patron Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 4,239 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $967,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 415,874 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $94,588,000 after purchasing an additional 35,414 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 6,104 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,392,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,243 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fourpath Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 47,282 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $10,782,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. 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.