Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 939 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. PCG Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the 4th quarter worth $397,000. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 58,956 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $13,444,000 after buying an additional 5,266 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 1,589 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,149,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 27,971 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,379,000 after buying an additional 1,223 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on UNP shares. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $285.00 price objective (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Union Pacific from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $261.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,875,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 64,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,240,000. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.00, for a total value of $1,636,740.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,632,388. This represents a 19.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of UNP opened at $246.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. Union Pacific Co. has a twelve month low of $218.55 and a twelve month high of $258.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50 day moving average of $239.46 and a 200-day moving average of $240.96.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.82% and a return on equity of 41.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

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.