Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 939 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,860 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $705,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 8.2% in the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 42,944 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $10,585,000 after purchasing an additional 3,256 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.4% during the third quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 14,067 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,467,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.7% during the third quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 8,745 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,803 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Union Pacific

In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $16,240,000. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of the company’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 value 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. This represents a 19.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Union Pacific stock opened at $246.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.77. Union Pacific Co. has a 52 week low of $218.55 and a 52 week high of $258.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $239.46 and a 200-day moving average of $240.96.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its earnings results 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 in the prior year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 48.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on UNP shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Union Pacific from $253.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital cut shares of Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $261.40.

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.