Prudential Financial Inc. Purchases 62,008 Shares of Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 900,695 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 62,008 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.15% of Union Pacific worth $207,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 1,400.0% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 120 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, GFG Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on UNP shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Union Pacific from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $263.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Loop Capital raised shares of Union Pacific from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $214.00 to $227.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $261.63.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of UNP stock opened at $226.36 on Friday. Union Pacific Corporation has a one year low of $204.66 and a one year high of $256.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $134.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.04.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.09. Union Pacific had a net margin of 28.73% and a return on equity of 42.23%. The business had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.75 earnings per share. Union Pacific’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.90%.

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.