Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Cuts Stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 272,796 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 2,352 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $67,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNP. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Union Pacific in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Union Pacific in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 3,250.0% during the second quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Union Pacific from $273.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.80.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

NYSE UNP opened at $233.57 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $141.60 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.05. Union Pacific Co. has a twelve month low of $218.55 and a twelve month high of $258.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $238.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly 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). Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. The company had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.51 earnings per share. Union Pacific’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.22%.

Union Pacific Company 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.