Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds recently.
In today’s marketplace, there are dozens of gauges market participants can use to monitor Mr. Market. A pair of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best investment managers can outpace the market by a very impressive amount (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, positive insider trading activity is a second way to break down the financial markets. Obviously, there are lots of incentives for an executive to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if piggybackers know where to look (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a peek at the key action regarding Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP).
What does the smart money think about Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP)?
At Q1’s end, a total of 43 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -10% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, D E Shaw, managed by D. E. Shaw, holds the most valuable position in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP). D E Shaw has a $164.2 million position in the stock, comprising 0.4% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Columbus Circle Investors, managed by Donald Chiboucis, which held a $157.8 million position; 1.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedgies that are bullish include Alan Fournier’s Pennant Capital Management, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management and Brett Barakett’s Tremblant Capital.
Seeing as Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) has witnessed a declination in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there is a sect of fund managers who sold off their full holdings in Q1. It’s worth mentioning that Thomas Steyer’s Farallon Capital dropped the largest position of the “upper crust” of funds we track, comprising an estimated $117.5 million in stock.. Chris Hohn’s fund, Childrens Investment Fund, also dumped its stock, about $31.6 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest fell by 5 funds in Q1.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP)?
Insider buying is particularly usable when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time frame, Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 7 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP). These stocks are Kansas City Southern (NYSE:KSU), Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (USA) (NYSE:CP), CSX Corporation (NYSE:CSX), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE:NSC), and Canadian National Railway (USA) (NYSE:CNI). This group of stocks are the members of the railroads industry and their market caps resemble UNP’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Kansas City Southern (NYSE:KSU) | 16 | 0 | 9 |
| Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (USA) (NYSE:CP) | 31 | 0 | 0 |
| CSX Corporation (NYSE:CSX) | 36 | 0 | 3 |
| Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE:NSC) | 37 | 0 | 6 |
| Canadian National Railway (USA) (NYSE:CNI) | 18 | 0 | 0 |
With the returns demonstrated by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) is no exception.
