Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP)

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) investors should pay attention to an increase in hedge fund interest of late.

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP)

In the financial world, there are plenty of metrics investors can use to watch stocks. A pair of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can outperform the market by a significant margin (see just how much).

Equally as beneficial, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to break down the marketplace. There are a variety of stimuli for an executive to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if you understand what to do (learn more here).

Now, we’re going to take a peek at the key action surrounding Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP).

How have hedgies been trading Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP)?

At year’s end, a total of 43 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 5% from the third quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings considerably.

According to our comprehensive database, D E Shaw, managed by D. E. Shaw, holds the biggest position in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP). D E Shaw has a $263 million position in the stock, comprising 0.6% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Columbus Circle Investors, managed by Donald Chiboucis, which held a $142 million position; the fund has 1.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies with similar optimism include Alan Fournier’s Pennant Capital Management, Thomas Steyer’s Farallon Capital and Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management.

As aggregate interest increased, some big names have jumped into Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) headfirst. Cobalt Capital Management, managed by Wayne Cooperman, created the biggest position in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP). Cobalt Capital Management had 19 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management also made a $12 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Jeff Lignelli’s Incline Global Management, SAC Subsidiary’s CR Intrinsic Investors, and Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP)?

Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time frame, Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) has seen 1 unique insiders buying, and 7 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the results demonstrated by our tactics, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) is no exception.

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Insider Monkey’s small-cap strategy returned 29.2% between September 2012 and February 2013 versus 8.7% for the S&P 500 index. Try it now by clicking the link above.