Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Given “Buy” Rating at Benchmark

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Benchmark in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $266.00 price target on the railroad operator’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 15.73% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on UNP. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.50.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Union Pacific stock traded down $0.91 during trading on Friday, reaching $229.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 353,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,268,735. Union Pacific has a 52-week low of $199.97 and a 52-week high of $258.66. The company has a market cap of $140.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.63, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $246.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by ($0.01). Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 42.62%. The business had revenue of $6.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.51 EPS. Union Pacific’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Union Pacific will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total transaction of $875,887.68. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 64,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,014,787.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Union Pacific

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the first quarter worth $1,088,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 19.0% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 126,369 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $31,078,000 after purchasing an additional 20,173 shares in the last quarter. Shellback Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 28.2% in the second quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 20,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,525,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the third quarter worth $834,000. Finally, Maj Invest Holding A S increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 0.3% in the third quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S now owns 676,098 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $166,645,000 after purchasing an additional 2,202 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.