Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Earns “Strong-Buy” Rating from Raymond James

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP)‘s stock had its “strong-buy” rating reissued by equities research analysts at Raymond James in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $280.00 target price on the railroad operator’s stock, up from their previous target price of $275.00. Raymond James’ price target points to a potential upside of 15.11% from the company’s current price.

UNP has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Union Pacific from $248.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Union Pacific from $198.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Union Pacific from $231.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Union Pacific from $252.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.78.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of UNP stock traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $243.25. 1,152,975 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,318,979. The company has a market cap of $148.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day moving average is $244.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.68. Union Pacific has a 1 year low of $190.45 and a 1 year high of $258.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.97 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 46.87% and a net margin of 26.45%. The company’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.67 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific will post 11.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $937,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 56,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,170,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Union Pacific during the third quarter worth about $25,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Union Pacific in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 211.4% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 109 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

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.