PH vs NSC Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Compare Parker Hannifin's motion and control technologies against Norfolk Southern's eastern rail freight franchise.
Use this Parker Hannifin vs Norfolk Southern comparison to evaluate the key differences across valuation, growth, profitability, and risk before making an investment decision.
PH holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. PH has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+28.60% vs +18.43%), though NSC has the better forward P/E setup (24.35x vs 25.39x for PH). NSC leads on both revenue growth (11.40%) and operating margin (35.30%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for PH (+16.68%) than for NSC (+4.76%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
| Metric | PH | NSC |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 62.4 | 52.6 |
| AI ranki | #113 | #367 |
| Latest closei | $962.59 | $329.46 |
| 1M returni | -3.44% | -3.59% |
| 6M returni | -0.29% | +5.96% |
| 1Y returni | +28.60% | +18.43% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | PH | NSC |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $12.72K (+27.2%) started 2025-09-04 | $11.78K (+17.8%) started 2025-09-04 |
| 5Y ago | $36.92K (+269.2%) started 2021-09-07 | $15.7K (+57.0%) started 2021-09-07 |
| 10Y ago | $104K (+940.0%) started 2016-09-06 | $50.31K (+403.1%) started 2016-09-06 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | PH | NSC |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $125.42B | $78.32B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 34.96 | 29.75 |
| Forward P/Ei | 25.39 | 24.35 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 6.22 | 7.53 |
| Analyst targeti | $1,160.95 | $365.28 |
| Target upsidei | +16.68% | +4.76% |
| Metric | PH | NSC |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 9.80% | 11.40% |
| Earnings growthi | 19.30% | -4.40% |
| EPS growthi | +19.30% | -4.40% |
| FCF margini | +13.78% | +11.02% |
| Operating margini | 23.46% | 35.30% |
| Profit margini | 16.97% | 21.02% |
| ROIC proxyi | 25.08% | 16.98% |
| Return on equityi | 25.08% | 16.98% |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.80% | 1.55% |
| Betai | 1.13 | 1.27 |
| Debt/equityi | 56.66 | 105.52 |
| Current ratioi | 1.26 | 0.83 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.67 | 0.67 |
Over the past year, PH and NSC have moved weakly in the same direction (correlation of 0.33), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | PH | NSC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +27.17% | +17.77% |
| CAGRi | +27.21% | +17.79% | |
| Volatilityi | 26.30% | 20.53% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.87 | 0.68 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.36 | 1.04 | |
| Max drawdowni | 19.52% | 12.47% | |
| Current drawdowni | 10.36% | 6.66% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 5.04% | 3.53% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 7.11% | 4.50% | |
| Max daily dropi | 4.32% | 5.47% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 10.94% | 6.41% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +249.90% | +44.19% |
| CAGRi | +28.52% | +7.61% | |
| Volatilityi | 28.86% | 24.98% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.86 | 0.24 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.30 | 0.35 | |
| Max drawdowni | 28.64% | 35.64% | |
| Current drawdowni | 10.36% | 6.66% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 6.72% | 12.95% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 9.42% | 15.81% | |
| Max daily dropi | 11.49% | 7.47% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 14.00% | 12.79% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +797.24% | +314.27% |
| CAGRi | +24.55% | +15.28% | |
| Volatilityi | 31.73% | 27.53% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.71 | 0.49 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.04 | 0.72 | |
| Max drawdowni | 54.68% | 44.42% | |
| Current drawdowni | 10.36% | 6.66% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 8.42% | 9.69% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 11.95% | 13.01% | |
| Max daily dropi | 16.69% | 13.90% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 30.59% | 23.87% |
| Category | PH | NSC |
|---|---|---|
| Company | PH | NSC |
| Sector | Industrials | Industrials |
| Industry | Specialty Industrial Machinery | Railroads |
| Core business | Parker-Hannifin Corporation engages in the manufacture and sale of motion and control technologies and systems for aerospace and defense, in-plant and industrial equipment, transportation, off-highway, energy, and HVAC… | Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. |
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.
Full valuation workup with AI Score, Monte Carlo forecast, and bull/bear case — free preview, premium data from $3.99.