** Shares of Union Pacific UNP.N are up 0.6% in afternoon trading Weds, with the railroad operator seen reporting higher rev and EPS when it reports qtrly results before the bell on Thurs

** Analysts expect Q2 rev of $6.15 bln vs $6.01 bln a yr ago and EPS of $2.90/shr vs $2.74 a yr ago, according to LSEG

** Last Fri, Reuters reported, citing a person familiar with the matter, that Union Pacific is exploring a possible acquisition of Norfolk Southern NSC.N to create a $200 bln coast-to-coast rail network

** Analyst recommendations on UNP include 18 "strong buy" or "buy" ratings, 12 "hold" ratings and one "sell" rating

** The median 12-mo PT on the stock is $260, while UNP is last at $230.52

** Including the session move, UNP is up about 1% YTD compared with a roughly 8% gain in the S&P 500 .SPX

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch)

((caroline.valetkevitch@thomsonreuters.com))