Wabtec Rewards Shareholders With 24% Hike in Quarterly Dividend

In a shareholder-friendly move, Wabtec Corporation (WAB) board of directors approved a dividend hike of 24%, thereby raising its quarterly cash dividend to 31 cents per share ($1.24 annualized) from 25 cents ($1.00 annualized). The raised dividend will be paid out on March 2, 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Feb. 17. The move reflects WAB’s intention to utilize free cash to enhance its shareholders’ returns.

Wabtec Dividend Yield (TTM)

Wabtec dividend-yield-ttm | Wabtec Quote

Notably, Wabtec has been consistently making efforts to reward its shareholders through dividends and share buybacks, which are encouraging. Continuing the shareholder-friendly approach, WAB rewarded its shareholders in 2022 through a combination of cash dividends ($111 million) and share repurchases ($473 million). During 2023, WAB repurchased shares worth $409 million and paid $123 million in cash dividends. During 2024, WAB repurchased shares worth $1.09 billion and paid $140 million in cash dividends. During the first nine months of 2025, WAB repurchased shares worth $148 million and paid $130 million in the form of dividend payments.

Dividend-paying stocks provide a solid income stream and have fewer chances of experiencing wild price swings. Dividend stocks, like WAB, are safe bets for creating wealth, as the payouts generally act as a hedge against economic uncertainty like the current scenario. 

WAB management’s decision to increase its quarterly dividend payout reflects the company’s commitment to boosting shareholder value, apart from underlining confidence in its business. We believe such shareholder-friendly initiatives should boost investor confidence and positively impact thisZacks Rank #2 (Buy) company’s bottom line. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Apart from the latest dividend hike, Wabtec has also been in the news owing to the latest $1.2B locomotive modernization deal with Union Pacific (UNP), aimed at modernizing the railroad’s AC4400 locomotives. This deal marks the largest locomotive modernization investment in rail industry history, building on Union Pacific’s previous 2022 order, which is slated to be completed in 2026. The upgraded fleet is expected to boost Union Pacific’s operational efficiency and network performance.

This deal was signed in the fourth quarter of 2025 and reflects Union Pacific’s fourth major modernization order from Wabtec since 2018. On completion, UNP will have more than 1,700 modernized locomotives in its fleet. Production is expected to start at Wabtec’s U.S. facilities, with deliveries beginning in 2027.

Given this backdrop, we keenly await Wabtec’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings result, which is scheduled to be reported on Feb. 11, 2026, before market open.

Shareholder-Friendly Moves by Another Transportation Company in 2026

Wabtec is not the only player from the Zacks Transportation sector that has rewarded its shareholders with dividend payouts or share buyback programs in 2026.

To name a few, on Jan. 26, 2026, Schneider National, Inc.’s (SNDR) board of directors declared a dividend hike of 5%, raising its quarterly cash dividend to 10 cents per share from 9.5 cents. The raised dividend (payable to shareholders of record as of March 13, 2026) is expected to be paid on April 8, 2026. As of Dec. 31, 2025, SNDR had rewarded its shareholders with $67 million in the form of dividend payments.

Additionally, SNDR's board of directors approved a new stock repurchase program, effective immediately, under which up to $150 million of the company’s outstanding Class A common stock, and/or Class B common stock, may be acquired over the next three years. This share buyback program supersedes and replaces the $150 million stock repurchase authorization approved by SNDR's board on Jan.31, 2023 (the “Prior Repurchase Program”), which is scheduled to expire on Jan. 31, 2026, and is substantially similar to the Prior Repurchase Program. SNDR repurchased 4.4 million shares for a total of $110.1 million under the Prior Repurchase Program.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research