Analyzing Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) and U-Haul (NYSE:UHAL)

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) and U-Haul (NYSE:UHAL) are both large-cap industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends and risk.

Volatility and Risk

Norfolk Southern has a beta of 1.29, meaning that its stock price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, U-Haul has a beta of 1.1, meaning that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Norfolk Southern and U-Haul’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Norfolk Southern	20.70%	18.22%	6.46%
U-Haul	1.05%	0.81%	0.30%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Norfolk Southern and U-Haul, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Norfolk Southern	0	14	7	0	2.33
U-Haul	1	0	1	0	2.00

Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus price target of $348.81, suggesting a potential upside of 2.06%. U-Haul has a consensus price target of $90.00, suggesting a potential upside of 53.11%. Given U-Haul’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe U-Haul is more favorable than Norfolk Southern.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Norfolk Southern and U-Haul”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Norfolk Southern	$12.96 billion	5.92	$2.87 billion	$11.93	28.65
U-Haul	$6.04 billion	1.89	$83.13 million	$0.14	419.86

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

75.1% of Norfolk Southern shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.6% of U-Haul shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Norfolk Southern shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 43.8% of U-Haul shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Norfolk Southern beats U-Haul on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal. It also transports overseas freight through various Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports; and operates an intermodal network. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated approximately 19,100 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia. Norfolk Southern Corporation was incorporated in 1980 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About U-Haul

AMERCO operates as a do-it-yourself moving and storage operator for household and commercial goods in the United States and Canada. The company’s Moving and Storage segment rents trucks, trailers, portable moving and storage units, specialty rental items, and self-storage spaces primarily to the household movers; and sells moving supplies, towing accessories, and propane. It also provides uhaul.com, an online marketplace that connects consumers to independent Moving Help service providers and independent self-storage affiliates; auto transport and tow dolly options to transport vehicles; and specialty boxes for dishes, computers, and sensitive electronic equipment, as well as tapes, security locks, and packing supplies. This segment rents its products and services through a network of approximately 2,065 company operated retail moving stores and 20,100 independent U-Haul dealers. As of March 31, 2020, it had a rental fleet of approximately 176,000 trucks, 127,000 trailers, and 41,000 towing devices; and 1,745 self-storage locations with approximately 774,000 rentable storage units. The company’s Property and Casualty Insurance segment offers loss adjusting and claims handling services. It also provides moving and storage protection packages, such as Safemove and Safetow packages, which offer moving and towing customers with a damage waiver, cargo protection, and medical and life insurance coverage; Safestor that protects storage customers from loss on their goods in storage; Safestor Mobile, which protects customers stored belongings; and Safemove Plus, which provides rental customers with a layer of primary liability protection. The company’s Life Insurance segment provides life and health insurance products primarily to the senior market through the direct writing and reinsuring of life insurance, medicare supplement, and annuity policies. AMERCO was founded in 1945 and is based in Reno, Nevada.