Dearborn Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. $CASY

Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 50,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,314,000. Casey’s General Stores makes up approximately 1.9% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Casey’s General Stores in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in Casey’s General Stores during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in Casey’s General Stores during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Casey’s General Stores by 252.4% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 74 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $838.16, for a total transaction of $4,777,512.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,874,074.32. This represents a 16.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $800.00, for a total transaction of $1,600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 6,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,334,400. This trade represents a 23.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 30,243 shares of company stock worth $24,421,877 over the last 90 days. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Casey’s General Stores Price Performance

CASY opened at $763.38 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $833.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $781.50. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $490.00 and a 1 year high of $927.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.25 billion, a PE ratio of 39.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.61.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $4.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.33 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 4.07% and a return on equity of 18.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.63 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 21.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Saturday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a boost from Casey’s General Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CASY shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $913.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $910.00 to $960.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $945.00 to $925.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $950.00 to $970.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $942.87.

About Casey’s General Stores

Casey’s General Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: CASY) is a U.S.-based convenience store chain that operates retail fuel stations and food-focused convenience outlets. Founded in 1959 in Boone, Iowa, the company has grown from a single neighborhood store into a regional operator known for combining traditional convenience retailing—fuel, packaged goods and tobacco—with a larger emphasis on fresh and prepared foods.

The company’s stores typically offer gasoline and diesel alongside a range of grocery essentials, grab-and-go items and made-to-order foodservice.