Exeter Financial LLC Buys 225 Shares of Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Exeter Financial LLC boosted its stake in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 4.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,331 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LGT Group Foundation boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 5,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,275,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 1st quarter worth $988,822,000. SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 13,264 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,133,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,666 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $866,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,545 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,491,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $244.00 to $238.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $257.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Argus cut shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $271.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Union Pacific to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.38.

Union Pacific Stock Up 1.1%

UNP opened at $230.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.65. Union Pacific Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $204.66 and a fifty-two week high of $256.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $222.43 and its 200 day moving average is $224.76. The stock has a market cap of $136.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.09 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 28.43% and a return on equity of 41.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.74 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.96%.

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.