Northeast Investment Management Cuts Position in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Key Points

• Northeast Investment Management reduced its position in Union Pacific Corporation by 1.9%, owning 186,925 shares valued at approximately $43 million.
• Analysts' ratings for Union Pacific vary, with one strong buy, fifteen buys, and eleven holds; the stock currently has an average target price of $261.58.
• Union Pacific's latest earnings report exceeded expectations, posting an EPS of $3.03 against a consensus estimate of $2.84, with a revenue of $6.15 billion.

Northeast Investment Management lowered its position in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 186,925 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 3,575 shares during the period. Union Pacific makes up about 1.8% of Northeast Investment Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Northeast Investment Management's holdings in Union Pacific were worth $43,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,105,382 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,678,575,000 after purchasing an additional 142,732 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 5.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,949,345 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,641,715,000 after purchasing an additional 354,463 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 1.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,105,784 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,206,191,000 after purchasing an additional 86,292 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 10.8% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,626,200 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,092,893,000 after purchasing an additional 452,788 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the first quarter valued at approximately $988,822,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $271.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $214.00 to $227.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Argus lowered shares of Union Pacific from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $261.58.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Union Pacific stock opened at $225.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $134.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $224.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Union Pacific Corporation has a 12 month low of $204.66 and a 12 month high of $256.84.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 28.43% and a return on equity of 41.73%. The firm's revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.74 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current 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.

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