5 Mad Money Stock Picks This Week

4. Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 83

Answering a question about Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) in the backdrop of the CEO’s departure, Jim Cramer said that it is a “great long-term play.” Recently, Barclays analyst Brandon R. Oglenski said that the railroad sector is seeing a lot of negative sentiment amid derailments, labor and demand concerns.

However, the analyst said that the industry’s fundamentals could improve in 2023 and that would minimize the downside risks. The analyst reiterated an Overweight rating for several rail road stocks, including Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP).

As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, 83 hedge funds reported having stakes in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP). The net worth of these stakes at the end of the quarter was about $5.4 billion. The biggest hedge fund stakeholder of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) was Eric W. Mandelblatt’s Soroban Capital Partners which owns a $964 million stake in the company.

Here is what Diamond Hill Capital Management specifically said about Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:

“Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) is a large railroad company that carries freight across the western US and between Canada and Mexico. It transports a variety of industrial goods, raw materials and containerized freight between major US ports, industrial hubs and international gateways. The goods that Union Pacific and other railroads transport are fundamental inputs in the economy and are resilient to long-term trends in the business cycle. We believe Union Pacific offers a compelling investment opportunity as its substantial infrastructure investments, relative cost advantages, limited leverage and the essential nature of the products it delivers provides the company with what we believe is one of the widest moats in the transportation sector. We also like that Union Pacific has a shareholder-oriented management team that is focused on growing earnings while returning capital to shareholders.”