Private Capital Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Private Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 60,170 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Union Pacific accounts for about 1.6% of Private Capital Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Private Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $13,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 103.1% in 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 during the period. Shellback Capital LP grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 20,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,525,000 after acquiring an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in Union Pacific during the 3rd quarter valued at about $834,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 179,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $44,348,000 after purchasing an additional 4,939 shares during the period. Finally, Maj Invest Holding A S boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on UNP. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.90.

Union Pacific Stock Up 5.1 %

UNP stock opened at $247.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $150.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific Co. has a 12 month low of $218.55 and a 12 month high of $258.66. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $233.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.16. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.71 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.22%.

Union Pacific 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.