TD Cowen Boosts Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Price Target to $258.00

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at TD Cowen from $252.00 to $258.00 in a report released on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. TD Cowen’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 5.95% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $231.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Union Pacific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $248.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.32.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of UNP opened at $243.52 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $148.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $244.34 and a 200 day moving average of $234.68. Union Pacific has a twelve month low of $190.37 and a twelve month high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.87%. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific will post 11.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $937,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 56,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,170,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Union Pacific

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Union Pacific in the 1st quarter worth $32,796,000. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 4,939 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,861 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,671,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 41.5% in the 1st quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC now owns 12,036 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,960,000 after purchasing an additional 3,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $785,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.