Comparing Alstom (OTCMKTS:ALSMY) and CSX (NASDAQ:CSX)

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Alstom shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.6% of CSX shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of CSX shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Alstom and CSX”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alstom	$19.85 billion	0.54	$160.07 million	N/A	N/A
CSX	$14.54 billion	4.17	$3.47 billion	$1.62	20.08

CSX has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Alstom.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Alstom and CSX, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alstom	1	1	1	1	2.50
CSX	0	7	14	1	2.73

CSX has a consensus target price of $37.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.74%. Given CSX’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe CSX is more favorable than Alstom.

Risk and Volatility

Alstom has a beta of 1.54, suggesting that its share price is 54% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CSX has a beta of 1.25, suggesting that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alstom	N/A	N/A	N/A
CSX	21.92%	25.48%	7.41%

Summary

CSX beats Alstom on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alstom

Alstom SA provides solutions for rail transport industry in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Pacific, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa. The company offers rolling stock solutions comprising people movers and monorails, light rails, metros, commuter trains, regional trains, high-speed trains, and locomotives; asset optimization, cybersecurity, connectivity, digital passenger, and security and city mobility solutions; and signaling products, such as urban, mainline, and freight and mining signaling. It also provides APM, monorail, tram, metro, and main line systems; and tracklaying and track solutions, catenary free and ground feeding solutions, electrification solutions, and electromechanical equipment, as well as cybersecurity solutions. In addition, the company provides maintenance, modernization, overhaul, parts and repair, and support services. Further, it offers various components, including bogies, motors and generators, friction brakes, switchgears, gearboxes, traction and auxiliary converters, transformers, components propulsion, green traction solutions, interiors and train control and information systems, hydrogen and battery solutions, and dispen dampers. The company was founded in 1928 and is based in Saint-Ouen, France.

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.