First City Capital Management Inc. Trims Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

First City Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,036 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 73 shares during the period. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 272.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,678,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $379,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227,318 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 19,878.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 896,040 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $220,856,000 after purchasing an additional 891,555 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,795,993,000 after acquiring an additional 625,492 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2,025.4% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 546,236 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $134,636,000 after buying an additional 520,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 170.9% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 736,246 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $181,470,000 after purchasing an additional 464,477 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UNP. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Union Pacific from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $254.00 to $247.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.80.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNP traded up $2.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $231.94. The stock had a trading volume of 763,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,948,401. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.05. Union Pacific Co. has a 52 week low of $218.55 and a 52 week high of $258.66. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $234.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $238.37. 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 (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by ($0.03). Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. The business had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.51 EPS. Union Pacific’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.