Weiss Ratings Reaffirms "Hold (C+)" Rating for Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reiterated its "Hold (C+)" rating for Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP), while other analysts have assigned various ratings, with one giving a "Strong Buy" and others generating a consensus target price of $261.08.
• Union Pacific reported strong quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $3.03 that exceeded estimates by $0.19, and revenues of $6.15 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 2.4%.
• The company has a market capitalization of $138.07 billion and institutional investors currently hold 80.38% of its stock, indicating strong interest from large financial entities.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c+)" rating restated by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report released on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on UNP. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays downgraded shares of Union Pacific from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup raised shares of Union Pacific from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $250.00 to $251.00 in a report on Monday, September 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $271.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, UBS Group set a $253.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $261.08.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNP traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $232.78. The stock had a trading volume of 2,519,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,597,805. The company has a market capitalization of $138.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.07. Union Pacific has a 1 year low of $204.66 and a 1 year high of $256.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $223.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

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 for 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 firm earned $2.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Union Pacific will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Union Pacific

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LGT Group Foundation increased its position in Union Pacific by 9.7% during the first quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 5,398 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the first quarter worth $988,822,000. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 6.2% in the first quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 13,264 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $3,133,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares in the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 10.9% in the first quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,666 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $866,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 16.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,545 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,491,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company's stock.

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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