We recently published a list of Why These 15 Defensive Stocks Are Surging In 2025. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Weis Markets Inc (NYSE:WMK) stands against other defensive stocks that are surging in 2025.

Defensive stocks are surging as investors have been shifting their focus. Growth stocks dominated the past two years. Now, slower economic signals and rising risks are changing the landscape due to market uncertainty.

Defensive stocks offer much more stability and tend to perform well even in tough times. People still need electricity, medicine, and food. That reliability draws investors when uncertainty grows.

Many are rotating into these stocks for safety. The surge suggests a broader trend. It could mark a turning point after years of growth-led rallies., so it’s worth looking into the defensive stocks that stand out right now.

Methodology

For this article, I screened the best-performing defensive stocks year-to-date.

I will also mention the number of hedge fund investors in these stocks. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).Why Weis Markets Inc (WMK) Is Surging In 2025?

A worker unloading fresh produce from a truck at the Weis Markets store in Sunbury Pennsylvania.

Weis Markets Inc (NYSE:WMK)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 16

Weis Markets Inc (NYSE:WMK) is a regional grocery store chain that operates in Pennsylvania and surrounding states.

The stock is up significantly so far in 2025 due to it reporting a 69% year-over-year increase in Q4 net income to $34.68 million and a 46% surge in e-commerce sales for the year. Fiscal year net income rose 5.9% to $109.94 million, with earnings per share of $4.09.

The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, and Charles Schwab Investment Management increased its holdings in Weis Markets during Q4 2024.

WMK stock is up 17.69% year-to-date.

Overall, WMK ranks 10th on our list of defensive stocks that are surging in 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of WMK as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than WMK but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

Story Continues

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

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