Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 24.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,637 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Union Pacific in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 211.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 109 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total transaction of $875,887.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 64,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,014,787.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Union Pacific Price Performance

UNP stock traded down $0.23 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $246.27. 198,846 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,261,443. The company has a market cap of $150.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.52, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific Co. has a 52-week low of $199.33 and a 52-week high of $258.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $233.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $238.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.03. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 42.62%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $1.34 per share. This is a positive change from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is 49.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $198.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $271.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.79.

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.