Steph & Co. Has $699,000 Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Steph & Co. trimmed its holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,066 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Steph & Co.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 103.1% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,581 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $8,770,000 after buying an additional 18,060 shares in the last quarter. Shellback Capital LP grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 28.2% in the second quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 20,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,525,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares during the period. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in Union Pacific in the third quarter valued at $834,000. Maj Invest Holding A S raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.3% during the third quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S now owns 676,098 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $166,645,000 after purchasing an additional 2,202 shares during the period. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 61.5% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 10,500 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,394,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Price Performance

UNP opened at $231.00 on Thursday. Union Pacific Co. has a fifty-two week low of $218.55 and a fifty-two week high of $258.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $234.49 and a 200 day moving average of $238.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $140.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.95 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is presently 49.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UNP shares. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $252.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Union Pacific from $273.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.35.

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.