Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 59 Shares of Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,084 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $3,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 16.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,545 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,491,000 after buying an additional 1,520 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Union Pacific in the first quarter valued at $2,149,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Union Pacific by 12.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 162,314 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $38,345,000 after purchasing an additional 18,453 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Union Pacific in the first quarter valued at $2,717,000. Finally, Grant Private Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in Union Pacific in the first quarter valued at $204,000. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on UNP. UBS Group set a $253.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $250.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Argus downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Citigroup raised shares of Union Pacific from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $250.00 to $251.00 in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $261.08.

Union Pacific Stock Down 2.6%

UNP opened at $225.54 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market cap of $133.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.07. Union Pacific Corporation has a twelve month low of $204.66 and a twelve month high of $256.84. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $224.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.30.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.09 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 28.43% and a return on equity of 41.73%. Union Pacific’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.96%.

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.