Empowered Funds LLC Acquires Shares of 53,793 Weyco Group, Inc. $WEYS

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Weyco Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WEYS) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 53,793 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,116,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WEYS. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Weyco Group by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 160,193 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $5,313,000 after acquiring an additional 2,224 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Weyco Group by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,989 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Weyco Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Weyco Group by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 95,961 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $3,182,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Weyco Group by 172.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,790 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 23.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WEYS shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Weyco Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings raised Weyco Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Weyco Group Trading Down 1.4%

Weyco Group stock opened at $44.19 on Friday. Weyco Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.25 and a 12-month high of $48.67. The stock has a market cap of $422.01 million, a P/E ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $41.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.68.

Weyco Group (NASDAQ:WEYS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The textile maker reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $62.22 million for the quarter. Weyco Group had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 14.04%.

Weyco Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. Weyco Group’s payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Dustin Combs sold 1,096 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.64, for a total value of $48,925.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 4,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $195,701.76. This represents a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Judy Anderson sold 2,602 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.27, for a total value of $112,588.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $623,866.86. This trade represents a 15.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,833 shares of company stock worth $558,881. 36.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Weyco Group Company Profile

Weyco Group, Inc is a publicly traded footwear company (NASDAQ: WEYS) based in Glendale, Wisconsin, that designs, sources, markets and distributes branded footwear products. The company operates through a portfolio of five consumer brands—Florsheim, Stacy Adams, Nunn Bush, BOGS and Rafters—offering a full range of dress, casual and performance footwear for men and women.

The Florsheim brand, with roots dating back to 1892, provides classic and contemporary men’s dress shoe styles, while Stacy Adams and Nunn Bush deliver fashion-forward and casual offerings.