Peoples Financial Services CORP. Trims Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Peoples Financial Services CORP. reduced its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,828 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 354 shares during the period. Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the second quarter worth $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the third quarter worth $30,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the second quarter worth $31,000. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 265.7% in the third quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 128 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the third quarter worth $32,000. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Union Pacific Stock Up 1.1 %

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

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted 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). Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. The company had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.51 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on UNP shares. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI cut Union Pacific from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $254.00 to $247.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Union Pacific from $263.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Union Pacific from $265.00 to $262.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.80.

About Union Pacific

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.