When looking for promising candidates for your stock portfolio, it’s easy to just think about the prominent names of the day, such as Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), or Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC). But there are plenty of other possibilities, many of which have been under our nose for quite some time.
Permit me to introduce you to Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP), for example. Here are a bunch of interesting things about the company and its stock.
- The basics: The company traces its roots back well before the Civil War, to 1848 and the completion of the first 10 miles of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad. In 1862, President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act, authorizing the Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) and Central Pacific railroad companies to build a transcontinental railroad. Union Pacific’s first rail was laid in Omaha in 1865.
- Today, Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) is one of America’s top railroad companies, with roughly 32,000 miles covering 23 states in the Western two-thirds of the country. As of the end of 2012, it employed 45,700 workers and sported 8,400 locomotives.
- Like other railroad companies, Union Pacific has been challenged by weakness in the coal market, but less so than its Eastern rivals CSX Corporation (NYSE:CSX) and Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE:NSC). Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) has been performing well in part by raising prices and expanding other businesses, such as transporting oil.
- Union Pacific and holders of Union Pacific stock do face some risks, though, such as the fact that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A)‘s Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway is looking into powering its trains with natural gas, which could help it compete better on price and put pressure on its competition.
- Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) stock is up about 54% over the past year, and it has averaged annual gains of 20.5% over the past decade and 12.6% over the past 30 years. Clearly, Union Pacific stock has been good to its shareholders.
- A peek at some of the characteristics of Union Pacific stock via the company’s financial statements offers reasons to smile, with measures such as net profit margins and return on invested capital rising steadily in recent years and free cash flow more than doubling over the past five years to $2.3 billion.
- The valuation of Union Pacific stock looks un-bargain-like, with a recent P/E ratio near 19, but its forward P/E ratio is around 14.6.
Demand for railroad services isn’t likely to flag anytime soon, especially as rail transport is far more cost-effective than trucking. (Trains can transport a ton of cargo more than 400 miles on a single gallon of fuel.) Union Pacific stock is worth considering if you’re looking for a solid long-term performer as well as dividend income. You might want to buy some now — or add it your watch list, and hope that the price drops some, offering an entry point with greater margin of safety.
The article 8 Things to Know About Union Pacific Stock originally appeared on Fool.com.
Longtime Fool contributor Selena Maranjian, whom you can follow on Twitter, owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.
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