Wisconsin Top Performing Stocks

Everyone knows of the Badger State as a land of beer, dairy, and the home of Harley-Davidson. Yet, it also has a bustling economy dominated by healthcare, information technology, manufacturing, and agriculture. Thus, here are five publicly traded entities presenting quality market performances as of late.

Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation is a digital transformation technology and industrial automation enterprise from Milwaukee. It was founded as the Compression Rheostat Launch Company in 1903 and currently employs over twenty-nine thousand people, dealing with business entities and customers in more than one hundred countries. Rockwell Automation is the result of Rockwell International splitting into two divisions in 2001. Recently, this corporation, which has an operating income of $1.69 billion and pulls in annual revenues of $9 billion, made news for its construction of a novel manufacturing facility in India’s city of Chennai, set to open in 2025.

Rockwell Automation has a market cap of $32.1 billion. It has expanded its yearly earnings by 8.9% per share over the past half a decade, displaying that investor sentiment towards its stock has mostly stayed the same. It is noteworthy that Rockwell Automation’s TSR of 72% over five years has exceeded its share price return. That has primarily occurred due to dividend payments. TSR, or total shareholder return, includes dividends and other benefits from discounted capital raises or spin-offs, providing a more comprehensive view of a stock’s health.

Regal Rexnord Corp

This is another Milwaukee manufacturer, often referred to only as Regal Rexnord, but this one operates in the electric motors and power transmission component field. It was established in 1955 as the Beloit Tool Corporation, moving to Illinois in 1961 and changing its name to Regal Beloit in 1969. In 2021, the Regal Beloit Corporation merged with Rexnord, forming the entity known as Regal Rexnord, quickly then after acquiring Wisconsin’s Arrowhead Systems LLC. And in March of last year, for $5 billion, it purchased competitor Altra Industrial Motion.

The Regal Rexnord Corporation has offices in fourteen locations, producing yearly revenues of $6.25 billion and boasting a staff of thirty-two thousand. Yahoo writer and Zacks Investment Research’s lead analyst Avisekh Bhattacharjee believes that the manufacturing industry is on an upswing, benefiting from increased manufacturing activities and improvements in supply chains. Hence, companies like Regal Rexnord are good bets. That is so despite it yielding no profit. Still, it has healthy free cash flows that cover dividends, with a sustainable payout ratio of 31%. RRX stock showed a one-year price high at the end of March and looks stable.

Generac Holdings 

Generac Holdings Incorporate, usually just Generac, is an S&P 500 company that began its operations in 1959. It was built by Robert Kern, a famed Wisconsin philanthropist and engineering entrepreneur. Headquartered in Waukesha, Generac manufactures backup power generation products for industrial and residential markets. The company has manufacturing facilities in multiple Wisconsin cities, such as Whitewater, Eagle, Jefferson, Berlin, and Oshkosh.

Generac has a free cash flow of $85.1 million, representing a sizeable increase from the previous year’s negative $41.7 million. Known for its varied range of power products, like clean energy solutions and portable and standby generators, Generac surpassed its Q1 2024 revenue estimates by $4 million, and it is looking to exploit dramatic demand for home standby generators. Its gross profit margin also displayed a 4.9% increase from Q1 20233, chiefly contributed to lower input costs, a favorable sales mix, and boosted production efficiencies.

After a drop in October 2023, Generac’s stock swiftly bounced back in November 2023. It now has been showing a positive trend from early March onward.

Fiserv

Now, let us move from the manufacturing side of things. Here, we have a financial technology and services entity (also an S&P 500 component), Fiserv Inc., a multinational company functioning from Milwaukee with an annual revenue of $17.7 billion and total assets of $84 billion. Forty-one thousand people work for it, providing financial services to parties like credit unions, banks, insurance and mortgage businesses, and more.

Fiserv was founded in 1984 and listed on the NASDAQ in 1986. Its current products are Clover, CardHub, and Carat. The first is a POS business, the second is a digital payment card service, and Carat is a payment-managing platform for large-scale entities. According to Zacks Equity Research, Fiserv is a top-value long-term stock due to its terrific strategic positioning in its sector, evidenced by its steady revenue growth and diversified client base.

Alliant Energy

Headquartered in Madison, at 4902 N. Biltmore Lane, Alliant Energy is an S&P 500 public utility holding company that also operates in other regions of the US, such as North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and even parts of Canada. Alliant has taken a more community-oriented stance in the past few years, striking partnerships with indigenous groups and centers to boost energy efficiency on Native territories, whose key source of income is gambling, since online betting is controlled by tribal casinos in Wisconsin and can only be performed from inside their land.

Companies working under Alliant Energy’s umbrella are Travero, Wisconsin Power and Light, and Interstate Power and Light. It has a current market cap of $12.8 billion and a price-earnings ratio of 17.9, with a 3.9% dividend yield. While some may consider it a price stock, MarketWatch reports that it recently outperformed its competitors and maybe a worthy buy.

Ashley Grace

Ashley Grasse is a research writer and casino entertainment expert. She’s interested in game theory and strategy. Ashley writes online casino reviews and blogs about trending topics in the gambling industry. In the years she’s been writing at OUSC, she’s earned a reputation for her deep dives and thorough research. You can also find very quirky and entertaining pieces authored by Ashley.

She loves to the outdoors hiking, kayaking, and a good slot experience in Las Vegas.