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Best Railroad Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top railroad stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +28.50% per year, and are the best railroad stocks to buy now. Learn More.

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best railroad stocks to buy right now are:

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (NYSE:WAB) is the #1 top railroad stock out of 11 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +5.11% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (NYSE:WAB) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (NYSE:WAB) has a Due Diligence Score of 43, which is 9 points higher than the railroad industry average of 34.

WAB passed 16 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies has seen its stock return 55.46% over the past year, overperforming other railroad stocks by 22 percentage points.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies has an average 1 year price target of $323.44, an upside of 8.7% from Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies's current stock price of $297.57.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 9 analysts covering Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies, 77.78% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 22.22% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Csx (NASDAQ:CSX) is the #2 top railroad stock out of 11 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +5.11% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Csx (NASDAQ:CSX) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: A, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Csx (NASDAQ:CSX) has a Due Diligence Score of 33, which is -1 points lower than the railroad industry average of 34.

CSX passed 12 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Csx has seen its stock return 43.82% over the past year, overperforming other railroad stocks by 10 percentage points.

Csx has an average 1 year price target of $50.82, a downside of -1.48% from Csx's current stock price of $51.59.

Csx stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 18 analysts covering Csx, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 11.11% have issued a Buy, 33.33% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 5.56% have issued a Strong Sell.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) is the #3 top railroad stock out of 11 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +5.11% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: A, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) has a Due Diligence Score of 49, which is 15 points higher than the railroad industry average of 34.

UNP passed 18 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Union Pacific has seen its stock return 36.73% over the past year, overperforming other railroad stocks by 3 percentage points.

Union Pacific has an average 1 year price target of $327.22, an upside of 6.22% from Union Pacific's current stock price of $308.05.

Union Pacific stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 18 analysts covering Union Pacific, 55.56% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 27.78% have issued a Buy, 16.67% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 8 railroad stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 railroad stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Trinity Industries (NYSE:TRN) has an annual dividend yield of 4.13%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the railroad industry average of 1.65%. Trinity Industries's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Trinity Industries's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Trinity Industries's dividend payout ratio of 29.1% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Greenbrier Companies (NYSE:GBX) has an annual dividend yield of 2.87%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the railroad industry average of 1.65%. Greenbrier Companies's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Greenbrier Companies's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Greenbrier Companies's dividend payout ratio of 37.5% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) has an annual dividend yield of 1.79%, which is the same as the railroad industry average of 1.65%. Union Pacific's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Union Pacific's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio of 44.7% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Railroad stocks were up 1.35% in the last day, and up 2.8% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why railroad stocks are up.

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued railroad stocks right now are:

Freightcar America (NASDAQ:RAIL) is the most undervalued railroad stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Freightcar America has a valuation score of 0, which is -22 points higher than the railroad industry average of 22. It passed 0 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates RAIL a Valuation Rating of "B".

Freightcar America's stock has dropped -11.1% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the railroad industry by -45 percentage points.

Greenbrier Companies (NYSE:GBX) is the second most undervalued railroad stock based on its Valuation Rating of C. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Greenbrier Companies has a valuation score of 43, which is 21 points higher than the railroad industry average of 22. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Greenbrier Companies's stock has gained 0.52% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the railroad industry by -33 percentage points.

Trinity Industries (NYSE:TRN) is the third most undervalued railroad stock based on its Valuation Rating of C. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Trinity Industries has a valuation score of 43, which is 21 points higher than the railroad industry average of 22. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Trinity Industries's stock has gained 6.93% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the railroad industry by -26 percentage points.

37.5% of railroad stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect railroad stocks to rise by 6.68% over the next year.

0% of railroad stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 0% of railroad stocks are rated B (Buy), 100% are rated C (Hold), 0% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).