Raymond James Reiterates “Strong-Buy” Rating for Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP)

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP)‘s stock had its “strong-buy” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Raymond James in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $280.00 price target on the railroad operator’s stock, up from their previous price target of $275.00. Raymond James’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 15.33% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on UNP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $235.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $231.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.78.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

NYSE UNP opened at $242.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $244.27 and a 200-day moving average of $235.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $148.13 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.07. Union Pacific has a 52-week low of $190.45 and a 52-week high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.97 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.52% and a return on equity of 44.34%. The business’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Union Pacific will post 11.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Union Pacific

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Riverwater Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 16.9% during the first quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 1,997 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. James Hambro & Partners increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 3.7% during the first quarter. James Hambro & Partners now owns 319,598 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $78,565,000 after buying an additional 11,387 shares during the period. Phoenix Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 1.4% during the first quarter. Phoenix Wealth Advisors now owns 11,968 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,943,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co LLC increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 0.4% during the first quarter. NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co LLC now owns 13,688 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,366,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Conning Inc. increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 4.0% during the first quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 151,396 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $37,162,000 after buying an additional 5,885 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.