Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The railroad operator reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by ($0.03), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 42.62%. The business's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.51 EPS.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of UNP traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $230.30. The company had a trading volume of 2,952,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,281,261. The company's 50-day moving average is $246.02 and its 200-day moving average is $238.46. Union Pacific has a twelve month low of $199.97 and a twelve month high of $258.66. The company has a market capitalization of $140.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UNP. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Union Pacific from $273.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Union Pacific from $265.00 to $262.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Union Pacific from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $259.15.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total transaction of $875,887.68. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 64,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,014,787.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% 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.