Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.19 EPS

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.87%. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.67 EPS. Union Pacific’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:UNP traded down $0.55 on Friday, reaching $243.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,030,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,317,354. The company has a market cap of $148.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07. Union Pacific has a 12-month low of $190.45 and a 12-month high of $258.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $244.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.68.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $937,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 56,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,170,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNP has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Union Pacific from $271.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Benchmark increased their price target on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.57.

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.