The Timken Company TKR announced rewards for its shareholders in the form of a hike in the quarterly dividend rate. Its shares gained 3.3% on Friday, closing the trading session at $71.07.We believe that such shareholder-friendly policies of the company reflect a strong cash position and belief in growth.Inside the HeadlinesIts board of directors approved a 3.6% hike in the quarterly dividend rate. The rate now stands at 29 cents per share. The previous quarterly dividend rate was 28 cents. On an annual basis, the dividend rate now stands at $1.16 per share, up from the previous rate of $1.12.The company will pay the revised quarterly dividend on Dec 3, 2020, to shareholders of record as of Nov 24, 2020.Sound Shareholder-Friendly PoliciesTimken is committed toward rewarding shareholders handsomely through dividend payments and share buybacks.Its cash dividend payout increased from $1.07 per share in 2017 to $1.12 in 2019. Also, the company’s payouts were 84 cents per share or $65 million in the first three quarters of 2020.Share repurchases by Timken totaled $204.6 million in the last three years. Also, it bought back treasury shares worth $42.3 million in the first three quarters of 2020.Due to the adversities caused by the pandemic, Timken suspended its share buyback actions in the first half of 2020. However, the company kept its dividend payment policy intact. Going forward, an improvement in financial performances might enable the company to reward shareholders handsomely.Zacks Rank & Estimates TrendWith a market capitalization of $5.4 billion, Timken currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The company is well-poised to gain from a diversified business structure, strength in the renewable energy market, and cost-saving actions. However, market weakness caused by the pandemic is concerning.In the past three months, the company’s shares have gained 29.7% compared with 14.9% growth recorded by the industry. In the past 30 days, Timken’s earnings estimates have been raised by 12.1% to $4.16 for 2020 and 9% to $4.74 for 2021. Also, the consensus estimate for the fourth quarter of 2020 has grown 31.9% to 91 cents.Timken Company The Price and Consensus Timken Company The price-consensus-chart | Timken Company The QuoteOther Stocks to ConsiderSome other top-ranked stocks in the industry are Worthington Industries, Inc. WOR, Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation AP and TriMas Corporation TRS. While Worthington presently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), both Ampco-Pittsburgh and TriMas carry a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Current-year earnings estimates for the companies have improved in the past 60 days. Further, the earnings surprise in the last four quarters, on average, was 14.59% for Worthington, 119.09% for Ampco-Pittsburgh and 8.45% for TriMas.The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of AllLast year, it generated $24 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $77.6 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early. See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>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 Worthington Industries, Inc. (WOR): Free Stock Analysis Report AmpcoPittsburgh Corporation (AP): Free Stock Analysis Report Timken Company The (TKR): Free Stock Analysis Report TriMas Corporation (TRS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.