Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Stock Price

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $265.00 to $260.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 9.23% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on UNP. Benchmark upped their price objective 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Union Pacific from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $285.00 target price (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Loop Capital cut Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Union Pacific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.76.

Union Pacific Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of UNP opened at $238.04 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $243.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.72. Union Pacific has a twelve month low of $218.55 and a twelve month high of $258.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Union Pacific

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,860 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $705,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 30,837 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $7,601,000 after purchasing an additional 8,847 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 19.7% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 23,660 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,832,000 after buying an additional 3,889 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 15,807 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,896,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Union Pacific by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 258,100 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $63,616,000 after acquiring an additional 12,652 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Union Pacific Company Profile

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.