Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Has $2.58 Million Stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,328 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $2,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNP. One Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Union Pacific in the 2nd quarter valued at about $208,000. WealthPLAN Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 45.2% during the 2nd quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC now owns 21,423 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,847,000 after acquiring an additional 6,669 shares in the last quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. bought a new position in Union Pacific in the second quarter valued at approximately $761,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in Union Pacific by 5.4% during the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 24,415 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UNP. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.80.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Union Pacific stock opened at $229.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $138.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $234.49 and its 200 day moving average is $238.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $218.55 and a one year high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.51 EPS. Union Pacific’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 EPS 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 given a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 49.22%.

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.