Union Pacific (UNP) Stock Moves -1.44%: What You Should Know

Union Pacific (UNP) closed the most recent trading day at $208.07, moving -1.44% from the previous trading session. This move was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 3.88%. At the same time, the Dow lost 2.79%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.58%.

Heading into today, shares of the railroad had lost 8.51% over the past month, lagging the Transportation sector's loss of 3.63% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.32% in that time.

Union Pacific will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect Union Pacific to post earnings of $2.95 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 8.46%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $6.21 billion, up 12.8% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $11.67 per share and revenue of $24.56 billion, which would represent changes of +17.29% and +12.65%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Union Pacific. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Union Pacific is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

In terms of valuation, Union Pacific is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 18.1. This valuation marks a no noticeable deviation compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 18.1.

Investors should also note that UNP has a PEG ratio of 1.81 right now. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Transportation - Rail stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.88 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Transportation - Rail industry is part of the Transportation sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 104, putting it in the top 42% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research