Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.19 EPS

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.19, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.97 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share.

Union Pacific Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of UNP traded down $2.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $241.27. The stock had a trading volume of 503,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,310,745. Union Pacific has a 1-year low of $190.45 and a 1-year high of $258.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $234.68. The company has a market cap of $147.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 49.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $937,500.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 56,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,170,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UNP. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $231.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $256.00.

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.