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

Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 6,303 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 57% compared to the average volume of 4,022 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on UNP shares. Evercore ISI downgraded Union Pacific from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $254.00 to $247.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com lowered Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.35.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of Union Pacific stock traded up $10.99 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $246.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,762,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,463,889. Union Pacific has a one year low of $218.55 and a one year high of $258.66. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $149.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.71 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Union Pacific will post 10.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is currently 49.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Union Pacific

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 0.6% in the second quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 76,245 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $17,251,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. AXA S.A. raised its stake in Union Pacific by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 616,689 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $139,532,000 after acquiring an additional 85,734 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Union Pacific by 49.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 179,962 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $40,653,000 after acquiring an additional 59,418 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 23.4% in the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 350,945 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $74,089,000 after purchasing an additional 66,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 106,996 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

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.