Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP)

Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 9,004 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 84% compared to the typical volume of 4,901 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $937,500.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 56,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,170,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Union Pacific

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNP. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the 4th quarter worth $1,832,127,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Union Pacific by 0.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,261,449 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,478,649,000 after purchasing an additional 19,145 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Union Pacific by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,851,767 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,682,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,144 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,803,796 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,385,457,000 after purchasing an additional 285,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,867,842 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,441,260,000 after buying an additional 125,522 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Union Pacific stock opened at $243.52 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $244.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.81. Union Pacific has a 1 year low of $190.37 and a 1 year high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific will post 11.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on UNP. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Union Pacific from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Union Pacific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $235.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Union Pacific from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.00.

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.