NSC vs. CSX, JBHT, CNI, CP, UNP, UPS, RVSN, FDX, WAB, and ODFL
Should you be buying Norfolk Southern stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Norfolk Southern include CSX (CSX), J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT), Canadian National Railway (CNI), Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP), Union Pacific (UNP), United Parcel Service (UPS), Rail Vision (RVSN), FedEx (FDX), Wabtec (WAB), and Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL). These companies are all part of the "transportation" sector.
Norfolk Southern vs. Its Competitors
Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) and CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) are both large-cap transportation companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and media sentiment.
Norfolk Southern has a net margin of 27.40% compared to CSX's net margin of 22.66%. CSX's return on equity of 26.42% beat Norfolk Southern's return on equity.
In the previous week, CSX had 9 more articles in the media than Norfolk Southern. MarketBeat recorded 43 mentions for CSX and 34 mentions for Norfolk Southern. Norfolk Southern's average media sentiment score of 1.04 beat CSX's score of 0.64 indicating that Norfolk Southern is being referred to more favorably in the media.
CSX has higher revenue and earnings than Norfolk Southern. Norfolk Southern is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CSX, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Norfolk Southern has a beta of 1.31, indicating that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CSX has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.
75.1% of Norfolk Southern shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.6% of CSX shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Norfolk Southern shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of CSX shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Norfolk Southern pays an annual dividend of $5.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. CSX pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Norfolk Southern pays out 36.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CSX pays out 31.1% 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. CSX has raised its dividend for 21 consecutive years.
Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus target price of $267.48, suggesting a potential upside of 1.90%. CSX has a consensus target price of $34.14, suggesting a potential upside of 2.11%. Given CSX's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe CSX is more favorable than Norfolk Southern.
Summary
CSX beats Norfolk Southern on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.
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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time
This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding NSC and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
Media Sentiment Over Time
This chart shows the average media sentiment of NYSE and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
Norfolk Southern Competitors List
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This page (NYSE:NSC) was last updated on 7/4/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff
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