In a shareholder-friendly move, Union Pacific Corporation’s (UNP) board of directors approved a dividend hike of 3%, thereby raising its quarterly cash dividend to $1.34 per share ($5.36 annualized) from $1.30 ($5.20 annualized). The raised dividend will be paid out on Sep 30, 2024, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Aug 30. The move reflects UNP’s intention to utilize free cash to enhance its shareholders’ returns. Notably, UNP has paid dividends for 125 consecutive years.
Jennifer Hamann, executive vice president and chief financial officer, stated, “Union Pacific has a strong track record of delivering cash returns to its shareholders. We’re building on that record with a 3% increase in the third quarter, our 18th consecutive year of increased annual dividends per share.”
Union Pacific Corporation Dividend Yield (TTM)
Union Pacific Corporation dividend-yield-ttm | Union Pacific Corporation Quote
Union Pacific has been consistently making efforts to reward its shareholders through dividends and share buybacks, which are encouraging. During 2021, UNP rewarded its shareholders through dividends of $2.800 billion and repurchased shares worth $7.291 billion. In 2022, UNP paid dividends of $3.159 billion and repurchased shares worth $6.282 billion. In 2023, UNP paid dividends of $3.173 billion and repurchased shares worth $705 million. During the first quarter of 2024, UNP paid dividends of $795 million (did not repurchase any shares).
Dividend-paying stocks provide a solid income stream and have fewer chances of experiencing wild price swings. Dividend stocks, like UNP, are safe bets for creating wealth, as the payouts generally act as a hedge against economic uncertainty like the current scenario.
UNP’s management’s decision to increase its quarterly dividend payout reflects the company’s commitment to boosting shareholder value apart from underlining confidence in its business. We believe such shareholder-friendly initiatives should boost investor confidence and positively impact thisZacks Rank #3 (Hold) company’s bottom line. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Notably, shares of UNP have gained 12.1% over the past year compared with 6.7% growth of the industry.
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UNP is not the only player from the Zacks Transportationsector that has rewarded its shareholders with dividend payouts or share buyback programs. To name a few, on Jul 12, 2024, Ryder System, Inc. R board of directors approved a dividend hike of 14.1%, thereby raising its quarterly cash dividend to 81 cents per share ($3.24 annualized) from 71 cents ($2.84 annualized). The raised dividend will be paid out on Sep 20, 2024, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Aug 19, 2024. The move reflects R’s intention to utilize free cash to enhance its shareholders’ returns.
This marks Ryder’s 192nd consecutive quarterly cash dividend. Notably, Ryder has been making uninterrupted dividend payments for more than 48 years.
On Jun 20, 2024, Delta Air Lines DAL management announced a 50% hike in the quarterly dividend payout. This was the first dividend increase announced by DAL since its resumption of quarterly dividend payments last year following the COVID-induced hiatus. The decision reflects DAL’s shareholder-friendly approach. Financial prosperity owing to strong passenger revenues may have led to the dividend hike.
Delta raised its quarterly dividend to 15 cents per share (annualized 60 cents per share), representing an increase of 50% over the previous payout of 10 cents per share (annualized 40 cents per share). The new dividend, which has been approved by the company’s board of directors, will be paid on Aug 20, 2024, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Jul 30.
On Jun 10, 2024, FedEx Corporation FDX’s board of directors approved a dividend hike of 10%, thereby raising its quarterly cash dividend from $1.26 ($5.04 annualized) per share to $1.38 ($5.52 annualized).The raised dividend will be paid out on Jul 9, 2024, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Jun 24, 2023.
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Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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