Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Rating Lowered to Neutral at UBS Group

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP – Get Rating) was downgraded by equities researchers at UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Friday, The Fly reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on UNP. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Union Pacific from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $271.00 to $258.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 14th. Cowen raised their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $236.00 to $257.00 in a research note on Friday, January 21st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $271.00 to $276.00 in a research note on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.18.

Shares of NYSE UNP opened at $244.40 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $254.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $245.57. Union Pacific has a 52-week low of $195.68 and a 52-week high of $278.94. The firm has a market cap of $153.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 21st. The railroad operator reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $2.57. Union Pacific had a net margin of 29.92% and a return on equity of 44.50%. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the railroad operator to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rational Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 127.7% in the fourth quarter. Rational Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 20.4% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 30,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 5,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ahrens Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 77.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Union Pacific (Get Rating)

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, and other agricultural users; petroleum, and liquid petroleum gases; and construction products, industrial chemicals, plastics, forest products, specialized products, metals and ores, soda ash, and sand, as well as finished automobiles, automotive parts, and merchandise in intermodal containers.

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