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In the latest trading session, Union Pacific (UNP) closed at $211.88, marking a -0.26% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500’s 0.83% gain on the day.

Heading into today, shares of the railroad had lost 1.31% over the past month, outpacing the Transportation sector’s loss of 4.84% and the S&P 500’s loss of 3.68% in that time.

UNP will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be October 21, 2021. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.52, up 25.37% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $5.53 billion, up 12.47% from the year-ago period.

UNP’s full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $9.93 per share and revenue of $21.6 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +21.25% and +10.58%, respectively.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for UNP should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company’s business and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.87% lower within the past month. UNP currently has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).

Looking at its valuation, UNP is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 21.39. This represents a discount compared to its industry’s average Forward P/E of 21.96.

It is also worth noting that UNP currently has a PEG ratio of 2.14. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company’s expected earnings growth rate. Transportation – Rail stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.14 based on yesterday’s closing prices.

The Transportation – Rail industry is part of the Transportation sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 229, putting it in the bottom 10% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.

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