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 businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, community ranking, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, risk, institutional ownership and media sentiment.

Does the media prefer NSC or UNP?

In the previous week, Union Pacific had 29 more articles in the media than Norfolk Southern. MarketBeat recorded 81 mentions for Union Pacific and 52 mentions for Norfolk Southern. Union Pacific's average media sentiment score of 0.99 beat Norfolk Southern's score of 0.81 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	23 Very Positive mention(s)	9 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Union Pacific	48 Very Positive mention(s)	7 Positive mention(s)	16 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is NSC or UNP more profitable?

Union Pacific has a net margin of 27.33% compared to Norfolk Southern's net margin of 19.85%. Union Pacific's return on equity of 41.79% beat Norfolk Southern's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Norfolk Southern	19.85%	20.25%	6.22%
Union Pacific	27.33%	41.79%	9.84%

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, NSC or UNP?

Union Pacific has higher revenue and earnings than Norfolk Southern. Union Pacific is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Norfolk Southern, 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	$12.16B	4.79	$1.83B	$10.65	24.18
Union Pacific	$24.12B	6.28	$6.38B	$10.89	22.93

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 2.1%. Norfolk Southern pays out 50.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Union Pacific pays out 49.2% 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 increased 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.

Do analysts rate NSC or UNP?

Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus target price of $277.74, suggesting a potential upside of 7.86%. Union Pacific has a consensus target price of $263.30, suggesting a potential upside of 5.43%. Given Norfolk Southern's higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Norfolk Southern is more favorable than Union Pacific.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Norfolk Southern	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63
Union Pacific	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.70

Which has more risk & volatility, NSC or UNP?

Norfolk Southern has a beta of 1.34, suggesting that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Union Pacific has a beta of 1.06, suggesting that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals & 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. 0.2% of Norfolk Southern shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Union Pacific shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in NSC or UNP?

Union Pacific received 440 more outperform votes than Norfolk Southern when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 70.29% of users gave Union Pacific an outperform vote while only 57.67% of users gave Norfolk Southern an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Norfolk Southern	Outperform Votes 816 57.67%	Underperform Votes 599 42.33%
Union Pacific	Outperform Votes 1256 70.29%	Underperform Votes 531 29.71%

Summary

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