UNP

Facts You Need to Understand Union Pacific Stock

Union Pacific logged a -0.6% change during today's afternoon session, and is now trading at a price of $230.03 per share.

Union Pacific returned gains of 10.0% last year, with its stock price reaching a high of $240.48 and a low of $183.69. Over the same period, the stock underperformed the S&P 500 index by -8.0%. As of April 2023, the company's 50-day average price was $213.05. Union Pacific Corporation, through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad Company, operates in the railroad business in the United States. Based in Omaha, NE, the large-cap Industrials company has 31,800 full time employees. Union Pacific has offered a 2.2% dividend yield over the last 12 months.

EPS Trend Sustained Primarily by Reducing the Number of Shares Outstanding:

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Revenue (MM) $22,832 $21,708 $19,533 $21,804 $24,875 $24,140
Revenue Growth n/a -4.92% -10.02% 11.63% 14.08% -2.95%
Gross Margins 37% 39% 40% 43% 40% 38%
Operating Margins 37% 39% 40% 43% 40% 38%
Net Margins 26% 27% 27% 30% 28% 26%
Net Income (MM) $5,966 $5,919 $5,349 $6,523 $6,998 $6,365
Net Interest Expense (MM) $870 $1,050 $1,141 $1,157 $1,271 $1,342
Depreciation & Amort. (MM) $2,191 $2,216 $2,210 $2,208 $2,246 $2,298
Earnings Per Share $7.91 $8.38 $7.88 $9.95 $11.21 $10.41
EPS Growth n/a 5.94% -5.97% 26.27% 12.66% -7.14%
Diluted Shares (MM) 754 706 679 655 624 573
Long Term Debt (MM) $22,391 $25,200 $26,729 $0 $0 $0

Union Pacific's Valuation Is in Line With Its Sector Averages:

Union Pacific has a trailing twelve month P/E ratio of 20.4, compared to an average of 22.19 for the Industrials sector. Based on its EPS guidance of $11.32, the company has a forward P/E ratio of 18.8. The company doesn't issue forward earnings guidance, and the compound average growth rate of its last 6 years of reported EPS is 4.7%. On this basis, the company's PEG ratio is 4.37, which suggests that it is overpriced. Furthermore, Union Pacific is likely overvalued compared to the book value of its equity, since its P/B ratio of 10.01 is higher than the sector average of 4.06.

Union Pacific Has an Average Rating of Buy:

The 26 analysts following Union Pacific have set target prices ranging from $182.0 to $282.0 per share, for an average of $240.65 with a buy rating. As of April 2023, the company is trading -11.5% away from its average target price, indicating that there is an analyst consensus of some upside potential.

Union Pacific has a very low short interest because 1.1% of the company's shares are sold short. Institutions own 80.9% of the company's shares, and the insider ownership rate stands at 0.24%, suggesting a small amount of insider investors. The largest shareholder is Vanguard Group Inc, whose 9% stake in the company is worth $13,280,489,177.

The above analysis is intended for educational purposes only and was performed on the basis of publicly available data. It is not to be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Any buy, sell, or other recommendations mentioned in the article are direct quotations of consensus recommendations from the analysts covering the stock, and do not represent the opinions of Market Inference or its writers. Past performance, accounting data, and inferences about market position and corporate valuation are not reliable indicators of future price movements. Market Inference does not provide financial advice. Investors should conduct their own review and analysis of any company of interest before making an investment decision.

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