Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Buys 2,472 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,005 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,472 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,973,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Shellback Capital LP boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 20,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,525,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares during the period. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in Union Pacific during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $834,000. Maj Invest Holding A S boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S now owns 676,098 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $166,645,000 after purchasing an additional 2,202 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new stake in Union Pacific during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $10,378,000. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Union Pacific in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,923,000. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on UNP shares. Evercore ISI cut Union Pacific from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and cut their price target for the company from $254.00 to $247.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $252.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Union Pacific from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.80.

Union Pacific Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE UNP opened at $240.34 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $145.71 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $212.47 and a one year high of $258.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $242.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $6.09 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.