Union Pacific Corporation $UNP Holdings Boosted by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 15.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 104,421 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,711 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $28,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,890,598 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $7,586,243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302,732 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,527,563 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,951,497,000 after buying an additional 64,492 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 0.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,617,313 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,120,251,000 after buying an additional 23,698 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the second quarter worth about $1,193,135,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the second quarter worth about $1,094,677,000. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on UNP. Erste Group Bank began coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $346.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $339.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $313.00 to $323.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.09.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNP opened at $290.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $286.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $271.90. Union Pacific Corporation has a twelve month low of $218.20 and a twelve month high of $315.99.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.06. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 28.90%. The firm had revenue of $7.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Corporation will post 13.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Profile

Union Pacific Corporation operates one of the largest freight rail networks in the United States through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad. Its network serves 23 states across the western two-thirds of the country and connects with other railroads, ports and border crossings, including routes to Mexico and Canada.

The company transports a broad range of goods, including agricultural products, industrial materials, coal and energy products, and consumer merchandise. Its services support industries such as manufacturing, construction, agriculture, automotive and retail, with intermodal transportation combining rail with truck and shipping services.

Union Pacific traces its history to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and played a central role in building the first transcontinental railroad, completed in 1869.