Head to Head Review: CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) and Grab (NASDAQ:GRAB)

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) and Grab (NASDAQ:GRAB) are both large-cap industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

CSX has a beta of 1.21, meaning that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Grab has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares CSX and Grab’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CSX	22.21%	24.98%	7.61%
Grab	15.97%	8.83%	4.92%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares CSX and Grab”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CSX	$14.09 billion	6.50	$2.89 billion	$1.73	28.56
Grab	$3.37 billion	4.16	$268.00 million	$0.06	57.00

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for CSX and Grab, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CSX	1	7	18	0	2.65
Grab	1	1	8	1	2.82

CSX currently has a consensus price target of $51.31, indicating a potential upside of 3.86%. Grab has a consensus price target of $6.01, indicating a potential upside of 75.60%. Given Grab’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Grab is more favorable than CSX.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

73.6% of CSX shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.5% of Grab shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of CSX shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Grab shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

CSX beats Grab on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CSX

CSX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides rail-based freight transportation services. The company offers rail services; and transportation of intermodal containers and trailers, as well as other transportation services, such as rail-to-truck transfers and bulk commodity operations. It also transports chemicals, agricultural and food products, minerals, automotive, forest products, fertilizers, and metals and equipment; and coal, coke, and iron ore to electricity-generating power plants, steel manufacturers, and industrial plants, as well as exports coal to deep-water port facilities. In addition, the company provides intermodal services through a network of approximately 30 terminals transporting manufactured consumer goods in containers; and drayage services, including the pickup and delivery of intermodal shipments. It serves the automotive industry with distribution centers and storage locations, as well as connects non-rail served customers through transferring products, such as plastics and ethanol from rail to trucks. The company operates approximately 20,000 route mile rail network, which serves various population centers in 26 states east of the Mississippi River, the District of Columbia, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, as well as owns and leases approximately 3,500 locomotives. It serves production and distribution facilities through track connections. CSX Corporation was incorporated in 1978 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

About Grab

Grab Holdings Limited engages in the provision of superapps in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The company offers its Grab ecosystem, a single platform with superapps for driver- and merchant-partners and consumers, that allows access to mobility, delivery, digital financial services, and enterprise sector offerings. Grab Holdings Limited is headquartered in Singapore.