Shares of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B), the stock famously led by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, won an upgrade last week when Swiss banker UBS raised its price target on the industrial conglomerate to $481 per share. That suggests a nearly 18% upside for the stock over the next 12 months.

As analyst Brian Meredith explained, there are two big reasons to like Berkshire stock: insurance and trains.

Berkshire Hathaway is expected to report first-quarter earnings on May 6. Meredith believes the company will report $4.90 per share in profit on better "underlying loss ratios" at GEICO. (Which is to say, once you back out new reserves and catastrophic losses, payouts on insurance claims are trending lower relative to rising premiums). The analyst also sees shipment volumes on Berkshire's BNSF railroad picking up, translating into better revenue and profit there as well.

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Source Fool.com