Norfolk Southern (NSC) Competitors

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) and Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) are both large-cap transportation companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends, media sentiment, valuation, community ranking, risk and analyst recommendations.

Which has better earnings and valuation, NSC or UNP?

Union Pacific has higher revenue and earnings than Norfolk Southern. Norfolk Southern is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Union Pacific, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Norfolk Southern	$12.11B	4.68	$2.62B	$14.64	17.17
Union Pacific	$24.25B	5.56	$6.75B	$11.10	20.33

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer NSC or UNP?

Union Pacific received 440 more outperform votes than Norfolk Southern when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 70.25% of users gave Union Pacific an outperform vote while only 57.78% of users gave Norfolk Southern an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Norfolk Southern	Outperform Votes 828 57.78%	Underperform Votes 605 42.22%
Union Pacific	Outperform Votes 1268 70.25%	Underperform Votes 537 29.75%

Does the media prefer NSC or UNP?

In the previous week, Union Pacific had 26 more articles in the media than Norfolk Southern. MarketBeat recorded 43 mentions for Union Pacific and 17 mentions for Norfolk Southern. Union Pacific's average media sentiment score of 0.96 beat Norfolk Southern's score of 0.93 indicating that Union Pacific is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Norfolk Southern	12 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Union Pacific	28 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is NSC or UNP more profitable?

Union Pacific has a net margin of 27.82% compared to Norfolk Southern's net margin of 21.63%. Union Pacific's return on equity of 41.12% beat Norfolk Southern's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Norfolk Southern	21.63%	20.04%	6.26%
Union Pacific	27.82%	41.12%	9.98%

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of NSC or UNP?

75.1% of Norfolk Southern shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.4% of Union Pacific shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Norfolk Southern shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Union Pacific shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is NSC or UNP a better dividend stock?

Norfolk Southern pays an annual dividend of $5.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Union Pacific pays an annual dividend of $5.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Norfolk Southern pays out 36.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Union Pacific pays out 48.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Union Pacific has raised its dividend for 18 consecutive years. Union Pacific is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more volatility and risk, NSC or UNP?

Norfolk Southern has a beta of 1.32, meaning that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Union Pacific has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer NSC or UNP?

Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus price target of $267.24, indicating a potential upside of 6.31%. Union Pacific has a consensus price target of $257.74, indicating a potential upside of 14.19%. Given Union Pacific's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Union Pacific is more favorable than Norfolk Southern.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Norfolk Southern	1 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.52
Union Pacific	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Summary

Union Pacific beats Norfolk Southern on 18 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.