Citigroup Upgrades Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) to Buy

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) was upgraded by stock analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $244.00 price objective on the railroad operator’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $260.00. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 9.04% from the stock’s previous close.

UNP has been the topic of several other research reports. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $285.00 target price (up from $265.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $265.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered shares of Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $265.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $260.32.

Union Pacific Stock Up 7.4 %

Union Pacific stock opened at $223.77 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $134.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $238.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. Union Pacific has a 1-year low of $204.66 and a 1-year high of $258.07.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.82% and a return on equity of 41.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Union Pacific will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

In other news, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.00, for a total value of $1,636,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,319 shares in the company, valued at $6,632,388. This represents a 19.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,875,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 64,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,240,000. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,430,581 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,282,305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616,895 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,395,364 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,370,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,178 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,927,377,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,686,387 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,752,804,000 after purchasing an additional 363,937 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,650 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,587,763,000 after purchasing an additional 920,414 shares during the period. 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.