Analyzing Union Pacific (UNP) & Its Rivals

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) is one of 100 publicly-traded companies in the “Ground Transportation” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Union Pacific to similar companies based on the strength of its dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Union Pacific and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Union Pacific	0	4	19	1	2.88
Union Pacific Competitors	1368	6534	8697	267	2.47

Union Pacific presently has a consensus target price of $325.09, indicating a potential upside of 9.67%. As a group, “Ground Transportation” companies have a potential upside of 18.18%. Given Union Pacific’s competitors higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Union Pacific has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Profitability

This table compares Union Pacific and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Union Pacific	28.90%	37.54%	10.68%
Union Pacific Competitors	6.91%	12.57%	3.99%

Dividends

Union Pacific pays an annual dividend of $5.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Union Pacific pays out 44.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Ground Transportation” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.6% and pay out 26.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Union Pacific has raised its dividend for 18 consecutive years.

Volatility & Risk

Union Pacific has a beta of 0.84, suggesting that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Union Pacific’s competitors have a beta of 1.15, suggesting that their average stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Union Pacific and its competitors revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Union Pacific	$24.51 billion	$7.14 billion	23.10
Union Pacific Competitors	$8.74 billion	$911.04 million	-0.62

Union Pacific has higher revenue and earnings than its competitors. Union Pacific is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

80.4% of Union Pacific shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.5% of shares of all “Ground Transportation” companies are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Union Pacific shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 15.5% of shares of all “Ground Transportation” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Union Pacific beats its competitors on 11 of the 15 factors compared.

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. Union Pacific Corporation was founded in 1862 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.