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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 +32.52% 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:

Foster L B Co (NASDAQ:FSTR) is the #1 top railroad stock out of 11 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Foster L B Co (NASDAQ:FSTR) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Foster L B Co (NASDAQ:FSTR) has a Due Diligence Score of 29, which is -7 points lower than the railroad industry average of 36. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates FSTR as a "B".

FSTR passed 11 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Foster L B Co has seen its stock return 15.03% over the past year, overperforming other railroad stocks by 8 percentage points.

Freightcar America (NASDAQ:RAIL) is the #2 top railroad stock out of 11 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Freightcar America (NASDAQ:RAIL) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: D, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Freightcar America (NASDAQ:RAIL) has a Due Diligence Score of 23, which is -13 points lower than the railroad industry average of 36. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates RAIL as a "B".

RAIL passed 9 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Freightcar America has seen its stock return 8.12% over the past year, overperforming other railroad stocks by 1 percentage points.

Trinity Industries (NYSE:TRN) 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 +7.53% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Trinity Industries (NYSE:TRN) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Trinity Industries (NYSE:TRN) has a Due Diligence Score of 31, which is -5 points lower than the railroad industry average of 36.

TRN passed 11 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Trinity Industries has seen its stock lose -19.78% over the past year, underperforming other railroad stocks by -27 percentage points.

Trinity Industries has an average 1 year price target of $28.00, a downside of -4.4% from Trinity Industries's current stock price of $29.29.

Trinity Industries stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Trinity Industries, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 100% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 6 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 3.11%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the railroad industry average of 1.72%. 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 101.7% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) has an annual dividend yield of 2.25%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the railroad industry average of 1.72%. 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 45.8% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Greenbrier Companies (NYSE:GBX) has an annual dividend yield of 1.83%, which is the same as the railroad industry average of 1.72%. 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 21.1% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Railroad stocks were up 1.93% in the last day, and up 2.9% 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:

Greenbrier Companies (NYSE:GBX) 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.

Greenbrier Companies has a valuation score of 43, which is 6 points higher than the railroad industry average of 37. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Greenbrier Companies's stock has dropped -16.7% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the railroad industry by -24 percentage points.

Trinity Industries (NYSE:TRN) is the second 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.

Trinity Industries has a valuation score of 43, which is 6 points higher than the railroad industry average of 37. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Trinity Industries's stock has dropped -19.78% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the railroad industry by -27 percentage points.

Canadian National Railway Co (NYSE:CNI) 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.

Canadian National Railway Co has a valuation score of 57, which is 20 points higher than the railroad industry average of 37. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Canadian National Railway Co's stock has dropped -2.22% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the railroad industry by -9 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 6.67% over the next year.

0% of railroad stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 22.22% of railroad stocks are rated B (Buy), 77.78% are rated C (Hold), 0% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).