Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Plans $1.34 Quarterly Dividend

Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 27th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of 1.34 per share by the railroad operator on Monday, December 30th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%.

Union Pacific has increased its dividend by an average of 10.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 18 consecutive years. Union Pacific has a payout ratio of 44.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Union Pacific to earn $12.06 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 44.4%.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNP opened at $245.23 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $240.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $238.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.67 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Union Pacific has a 12 month low of $218.55 and a 12 month high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by ($0.03). Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. The business had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Union Pacific will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Union Pacific from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.80.

About Union Pacific

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.