Union Pacific (UNP) Competitors

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

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

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in NSC or UNP?

Union Pacific received 434 more outperform votes than Norfolk Southern when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 70.16% 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 812 57.67%	Underperform Votes 596 42.33%
Union Pacific	Outperform Votes 1246 70.16%	Underperform Votes 530 29.84%

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 more volatility and risk, NSC or UNP?

Norfolk Southern has a beta of 1.3, suggesting that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Union Pacific has a beta of 1.06, suggesting that its stock price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer NSC or UNP?

In the previous week, Union Pacific had 15 more articles in the media than Norfolk Southern. MarketBeat recorded 39 mentions for Union Pacific and 24 mentions for Norfolk Southern. Union Pacific's average media sentiment score of 1.14 beat Norfolk Southern's score of 0.74 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	15 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Union Pacific	30 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

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 2.3%. 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 prefer NSC or UNP?

Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus price target of $275.68, indicating a potential upside of 6.40%. Union Pacific has a consensus price target of $259.80, indicating a potential upside of 11.23%. Given Union Pacific's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly 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)	5 Hold rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63
Union Pacific	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.65

Which has better 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	4.82	$1.83B	$10.65	24.33
Union Pacific	$24.12B	5.87	$6.38B	$10.89	21.45

Summary

Union Pacific beats Norfolk Southern on 19 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.