Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Rating Reiterated by Royal Bank of Canada

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $275.00 price target on the railroad operator’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 11.74% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on UNP. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Monday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.79.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Union Pacific stock traded down $1.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $246.11. 131,565 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,253,025. Union Pacific has a twelve month low of $199.33 and a twelve month high of $258.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $242.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 42.62%. The company’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.57 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Union Pacific will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total transaction of $875,887.68. Following the transaction, the president now owns 64,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,014,787.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Union Pacific

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,832,127,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,682,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,144 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Union Pacific by 272.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,678,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $379,689,000 after acquiring an additional 1,227,318 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at $293,162,000. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its position in Union Pacific by 35.3% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,118,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,012,857,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,625 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.