Union Pacific Co. (UNP) To Go Ex-Dividend on February 28th

Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of 1.34 per share by the railroad operator on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th.

Union Pacific has increased its dividend payment by an average of 7.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 18 years. Union Pacific has a payout ratio of 40.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Union Pacific to earn $13.11 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 40.9%.

Union Pacific Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of UNP stock opened at $245.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $148.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific has a 1 year low of $218.55 and a 1 year high of $258.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $238.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $240.80.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.12% and a net margin of 27.82%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Union Pacific will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $253.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $261.40.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

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

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.