Nuveen LLC Acquires New Holdings in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new position in Casey's General Stores, purchasing 176,174 shares valued at approximately $76 million, making it part of a growing interest among institutional investors, which now own about 85.63% of the stock.
• Casey's General Stores recently reported earnings of $2.63 per share, significantly beating analysts' expectations, and announced plans to increase its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.57 per share.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Casey's stock, with projections now ranging from $450 to $575, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among market experts.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 176,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $76,467,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.47% of Casey's General Stores at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 54,448.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 543,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,054,000 after purchasing an additional 542,855 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 42.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,036,426 shares of the company's stock valued at $449,851,000 after purchasing an additional 306,628 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 51.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 515,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $223,792,000 after purchasing an additional 175,372 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 699.6% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 126,845 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,056,000 after purchasing an additional 110,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Casey's General Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,985,000. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on CASY. KeyCorp increased their price target on Casey's General Stores from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $490.00 price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Casey's General Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Casey's General Stores from $460.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $467.33.

Insider Activity at Casey's General Stores

In other news, insider Chad Michael Frazell sold 4,808 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.97, for a total transaction of $2,423,087.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,785,575.60. The trade was a 29.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $506.07, for a total value of $1,012,140.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 4,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,346,140.52. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 43,646 shares of company stock worth $22,136,614. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Casey's General Stores Price Performance

Shares of Casey's General Stores stock traded down $0.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $507.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 194,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,511. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $513.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $460.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $350.52 and a one year high of $531.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.69 and a beta of 0.69.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 9th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.69. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.95 billion. Casey's General Stores had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 3.43%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This is an increase from Casey's General Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.57%.

Casey's General Stores Profile

Casey's General Stores, Inc engages in the provision of management and operation of convenience stores and gasoline stations. It provides self-service gasoline, a wide selection of grocery items, and an array of freshly prepared food items. The firm offers food, beverages, tobacco products, health and beauty aids, automotive products, and other non-food items.