Wesbanco Bank Inc. Sells 79 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lowered its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 27,339 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 79 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $6,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,109,829,000 after buying an additional 217,780 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,813,686 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,146,451,000 after buying an additional 182,620 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 1.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,312,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,880,701,000 after buying an additional 106,996 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 9.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,795,993,000 after buying an additional 625,492 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,285,585 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,549,271,000 after buying an additional 143,896 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:UNP opened at $235.77 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $142.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.65, a PEG ratio of 2.13 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $218.55 and a 1 year high of $258.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $233.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $239.18.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is currently 49.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UNP. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Union Pacific from $262.00 to $253.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup upped their price target on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.35.

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.