Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Stock

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Citigroup from $255.00 to $267.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Citigroup’s price target indicates a potential upside of 11.09% from the stock’s previous close.

UNP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $265.00 to $262.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Union Pacific from $263.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Daiwa America lowered Union Pacific from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Union Pacific from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $254.00 to $247.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.80.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

NYSE UNP opened at $240.34 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. Union Pacific has a 12-month low of $212.47 and a 12-month high of $258.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.07, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s 50 day moving average is $242.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.63.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.51 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Union Pacific will post 10.94 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Union Pacific

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNP. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in Union Pacific by 0.5% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 376,303 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $92,751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,844 shares in the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC increased its position in Union Pacific by 90.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 64,262 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $15,839,000 after buying an additional 30,560 shares during the period. Hardy Reed LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 6,334 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,561,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 19.7% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 23,660 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,832,000 after buying an additional 3,889 shares during the period. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 3,101 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.