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Union Pacific Earnings show why Coal doesn't really matter article...

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  • Member since
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  • From: Lombard (west of Chicago), Illinois
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Posted by CShaveRR on Friday, July 19, 2019 4:37 PM

I watch the UNP stock a little more closely (because, basically, that's my 401K at work).  Two days ago it fell over ten bucks a share.  I still don't know why.  Yesterday, it gained all but a buck of that back, and today we have that buck.  That 59 operating ratio is very impressive, but they won't be happy with it.

Carl

Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)

CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)

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Posted by BaltACD on Friday, July 19, 2019 10:41 AM

Overmod
 
CMStPnP
Gee, Union Pacific stock didn't dive like CSX did, instead the stock increased slightly in value..... who knew? 

Perhaps there is something to be said for not obsessing over OR as a prime performance metric... when you cut or 'discourage' your customer base, you usually cut revenue, and as long as quarterly analysts look at revenue rather than net income you can prepare to be penalized...

My 'gut feeling' is that Foote and company following EHH's plan cut too deep into the 'institutional brain trust' and go rid of the pencil sharpeners in the Finance Department that knew the tricks of the trade to see that CSX financials ALWAYS beat the Wall Street estimates.  This time the CSX numbers DID NOT beat the street - thus the blood bath.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by Overmod on Friday, July 19, 2019 9:32 AM

CMStPnP
Gee, Union Pacific stock didn't dive like CSX did, instead the stock increased slightly in value..... who knew?

Perhaps there is something to be said for not obsessing over OR as a prime performance metric... when you cut or 'discourage' your customer base, you usually cut revenue, and as long as quarterly analysts look at revenue rather than net income you can prepare to be penalized...

Meanwhile, in other potentially rail-related news in the Barron's story ... Caterpillar.  TL;DR: this is basically why Barron's likes them:

Shares of Caterpillar (CAT), the leading U.S. machinery maker, have slumped 20%, to $126, this year despite reporting what’s likely to be a 70% rise in earnings.  The decline reflects the company’s status as a prime play on the global industrial economy. As Wall Street worries about the outlook for growth, Caterpillar stock has been hit. The shares, as Barron’s noted last week, look inexpensive. They now trade for 10 times projected 2019 earnings of $12.87 and yield 2.7%. The forward P/E has dropped from about 16 at the start of 2018.  Caterpillar’s three main divisions—construction, resource industries, and energy—are all reporting higher profits, and mining in particular is benefiting from pent-up demand after many years of slow sales. CEO Jim Umpleby has emphasized “profitable growth,” and the company is aiming to do that with 1% to 4% price increases at the start of 2019.  J.P. Morgan analyst Ann Duignan sees a “prolonged up-cycle” for Caterpillar and has an Overweight rating and $188 price target. A trade deal between the U.S. and China would almost certainly boost the stock.'

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Union Pacific Earnings show why Coal doesn't really matter article...
Posted by CMStPnP on Friday, July 19, 2019 9:13 AM

Gee, Union Pacific stock didn't dive like CSX did, instead the stock increased slightly in value..... who knew?

https://www.barrons.com/articles/industrial-stocks-fed-caterpillar-economic-cycle-deere-3m-51563308437

 

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