Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Shares Sold by Verity Asset Management Inc.

Verity Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 6.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,444 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 246 shares during the quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.6% in the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,037 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,731,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,581 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management raised its position in Union Pacific by 0.5% during the second quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 8,202 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,856,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 5.0% in the first quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 0.5% in the second quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 8,384 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,897,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on UNP shares. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $252.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Union Pacific from $265.00 to $262.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Union Pacific from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $266.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.15.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Union Pacific stock opened at $242.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.77. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $208.14 and a one year high of $258.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $243.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $238.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.78 by ($0.03). Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. The company had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.51 earnings per share. Union Pacific’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.