Union Pacific Co. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $1.34 (NYSE:UNP)

Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 27th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of 1.34 per share by the railroad operator on Monday, December 30th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%.

Union Pacific has raised its dividend payment by an average of 10.3% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 18 consecutive years. Union Pacific has a payout ratio of 44.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Union Pacific to earn $12.06 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 44.4%.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.2 %

Union Pacific stock opened at $245.23 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $240.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $238.51. Union Pacific has a 52-week low of $218.55 and a 52-week high of $258.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.52, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Union Pacific’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Union Pacific will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $252.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup boosted their target price 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. Daiwa America lowered shares of Union Pacific from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Nine investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.80.

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.