Ellis Investment Partners LLC Lowers Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Ellis Investment Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,645 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 44 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $3,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Union Pacific during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Union Pacific during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Union Pacific during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Union Pacific by 265.7% during the third quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 128 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Union Pacific during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total value of $875,887.68. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 64,945 shares in the company, valued at $16,014,787.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Daiwa America downgraded Union Pacific from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Evercore ISI cut Union Pacific from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $254.00 to $247.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Union Pacific from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Union Pacific from $273.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Union Pacific from $265.00 to $262.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.15.

Union Pacific Stock Down 0.2 %

UNP traded down $0.45 on Friday, hitting $230.30. The company had a trading volume of 2,952,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,281,261. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Union Pacific Co. has a 52-week low of $199.97 and a 52-week high of $258.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $246.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $238.46. The firm 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.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.76 by ($0.01). Union Pacific had a return on equity of 42.62% and a net margin of 26.90%. The company had revenue of $6.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.51 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.