Karras Company Inc. Takes Position in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Karras Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,185 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNP. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 665 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 20,606 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,741,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $859,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,528,426 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $351,660,000 after purchasing an additional 105,664 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, EVP Kenyatta G. Rocker sold 27,387 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.76, for a total transaction of $7,442,691.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 61,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,605,079.52. This represents a 30.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 1,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.93, for a total value of $469,625.07. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 31,386 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,716 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on UNP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $311.00 price target on Union Pacific and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $274.00 price target (up from $253.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $285.00 price target (up from $278.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $289.00 price target (up from $273.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.47.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of Union Pacific stock opened at $265.65 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $243.82. Union Pacific Corporation has a 12 month low of $210.84 and a 12 month high of $276.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.07. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 39.58% and a net margin of 29.20%.The business had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Union Pacific Corporation will post 12.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.47%.

Union Pacific Profile

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is one of the largest freight railroad companies in the United States. Its principal operating subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, has roots that trace back to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and the construction of the first transcontinental rail link completed in 1869. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and operates as a holding company for rail transportation and related services.

Union Pacific’s core business is the movement of freight by rail across an extensive rail network serving the western two?thirds of the United States.