Plato Investment Management Ltd Boosts Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,812 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 3.3% in the first quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 39,754 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $9,777,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new position in Union Pacific in the 1st quarter valued at about $351,000. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the 1st quarter worth about $10,378,000. First Foundation Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 9.0% during the first quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 3,236 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $796,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Councilmark Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,598,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Daiwa America lowered shares of Union Pacific from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Union Pacific from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $265.00 to $262.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of Union Pacific from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $254.00 to $247.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.80.

Union Pacific Price Performance

UNP opened at $235.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.77. Union Pacific Co. has a 1-year low of $215.81 and a 1-year high of $258.66. The company has a 50-day moving average of $242.46 and a 200-day moving average of $238.64. The company has a market capitalization of $142.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.63, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.78 by ($0.03). Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 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.