XML Financial LLC Acquires 99 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

XML Financial LLC boosted its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,528 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $2,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of UNP. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Union Pacific by 13.6% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 120,394 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,240,000 after acquiring an additional 14,388 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 179.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 8,427 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 5,416 shares during the period. Sagefield Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 30,310 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Union Pacific by 272.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,678,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $379,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227,318 shares during the period. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 18.5% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 250,193 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $56,609,000 after purchasing an additional 39,066 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on UNP. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $262.00 to $253.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $263.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.35.

Union Pacific Stock Up 1.1 %

Union Pacific stock opened at $236.73 on Wednesday. Union Pacific Co. has a fifty-two week low of $218.55 and a fifty-two week high of $258.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $233.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.10. The stock has a market cap of $143.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $6.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. Union Pacific’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.51 EPS. Research analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 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.