Wesbanco Bank Inc. Increases Stock Position in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its position in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,901 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,895 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $6,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNP. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 20,606 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,741,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its position in Union Pacific by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $859,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Union Pacific by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Union Pacific by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,528,426 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $351,660,000 after purchasing an additional 105,664 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on UNP shares. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $256.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $289.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (up from $260.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Union Pacific from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.55.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kenyatta G. Rocker sold 27,387 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.76, for a total transaction of $7,442,691.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 61,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,605,079.52. The trade was a 30.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 1,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.93, for a total transaction of $469,625.07. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 31,386 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,716 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of UNP stock opened at $264.38 on Friday. Union Pacific Corporation has a 1 year low of $210.84 and a 1 year high of $274.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $252.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $240.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $156.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.99.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.07. Union Pacific had a net margin of 29.20% and a return on equity of 39.58%. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Union Pacific Corporation will post 12.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Company Profile

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is one of the largest freight railroad companies in the United States. Its principal operating subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, has roots that trace back to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and the construction of the first transcontinental rail link completed in 1869. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and operates as a holding company for rail transportation and related services.

Union Pacific’s core business is the movement of freight by rail across an extensive rail network serving the western two?thirds of the United States.