Stifel Nicolaus Lowers Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Price Target to $253.00

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $262.00 to $253.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 8.13% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on UNP. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $273.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.35.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

NYSE UNP opened at $233.99 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. Union Pacific has a twelve month low of $218.55 and a twelve month high of $258.66. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $233.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.79. The firm has a market cap of $141.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Union Pacific will post 10.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNP. State Street Corp boosted its position in Union Pacific by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,109,829,000 after buying an additional 217,780 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,813,686 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,146,451,000 after purchasing an additional 182,620 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Union Pacific by 1.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,312,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,880,701,000 after purchasing an additional 106,996 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,795,993,000 after purchasing an additional 625,492 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,285,585 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,549,271,000 after purchasing an additional 143,896 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by 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.