Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The railroad operator reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.15, RTT News reports. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.71 EPS.

Union Pacific Stock Up 4.7 %

Union Pacific stock traded up $11.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $246.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 962,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,398,374. 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 52-week low of $218.55 and a 52-week high of $258.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.68, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $233.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.16.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Union Pacific from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $254.00 to $247.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com cut Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.35.

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.