Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The railroad operator reported $2.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 42.62% and a net margin of 26.90%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Union Pacific stock opened at $240.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.05. Union Pacific has a 52 week low of $199.33 and a 52 week high of $258.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $229.90 and a 200-day moving average of $238.99.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is a boost from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 49.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Union Pacific from $198.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Union Pacific from $248.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Union Pacific from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Union Pacific from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Loop Capital cut Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $276.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.75.

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.