Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Position Boosted by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 927,992 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 39,014 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $228,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,109,829,000 after acquiring an additional 217,780 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Union Pacific by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,813,686 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,146,451,000 after purchasing an additional 182,620 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 1.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,312,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,880,701,000 after purchasing an additional 106,996 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,795,993,000 after buying an additional 625,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,285,585 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,549,271,000 after buying an additional 143,896 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of UNP stock opened at $223.15 on Friday. Union Pacific Co. has a 1 year low of $218.55 and a 1 year 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $237.58 and its 200-day moving average is $238.24. The stock has a market cap of $135.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.05.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by ($0.03). Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. The firm had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.51 earnings per share. Union Pacific’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on UNP. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised their price target on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI lowered Union Pacific from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $254.00 to $247.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Union Pacific from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.80.

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.