Union Pacific Corporation $UNP Position Cut by Empirical Asset Management LLC

Empirical Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 2.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,976 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 53 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNP. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Union Pacific in the first quarter worth approximately $988,822,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Union Pacific by 29.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,699,109 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $873,878,000 after purchasing an additional 850,025 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in Union Pacific by 61,054.6% in the first quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 625,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $147,650,000 after purchasing an additional 623,978 shares during the period. Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. acquired a new stake in Union Pacific in the first quarter worth approximately $115,096,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Union Pacific by 10.8% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,626,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,092,893,000 after purchasing an additional 452,788 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on UNP. Loop Capital upgraded Union Pacific from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $214.00 to $227.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Union Pacific from $271.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Union Pacific from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Union Pacific from $244.00 to $238.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Union Pacific in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $231.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $261.58.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNP opened at $225.98 on Friday. Union Pacific Corporation has a one year low of $204.66 and a one year high of $256.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $224.71 and a 200-day moving average of $224.12. The company has a market capitalization of $134.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.73% and a net margin of 28.43%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 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.