Union Pacific Co. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $1.34 (NYSE:UNP)

Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th.

Union Pacific has raised its dividend by an average of 7.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 18 consecutive years. Union Pacific has a payout ratio of 40.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Union Pacific to earn $13.10 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNP opened at $242.12 on Friday. Union Pacific has a 12 month low of $218.55 and a 12 month high of $258.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The stock has a market cap of $146.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50 day moving average of $235.20 and a 200 day moving average of $240.17.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Union Pacific will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital cut shares of Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $265.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Union Pacific from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $261.40.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In other news, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,632,388. The trade was a 19.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the president now owns 64,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,240,000. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.