495 Shares in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Bought by First Western Trust Bank

Key Points

• First Western Trust Bank acquired 495 shares of Casey's General Stores, valued at approximately $215,000, marking a new investment in the company.
• Analysts have raised target prices for Casey's General Stores, with BMO Capital Markets increasing its target from $450 to $515, reflecting positive sentiment among analysts.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.57 per share, demonstrating financial growth and commitment to returning value to shareholders.

First Western Trust Bank acquired a new position in shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Casey's General Stores during the first quarter worth $3,314,000. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Casey's General Stores by 1.7% during the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 18,513 shares of the company's stock worth $8,035,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Casey's General Stores by 1.7% during the first quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 38,303 shares of the company's stock worth $16,625,000 after purchasing an additional 636 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP lifted its stake in Casey's General Stores by 9.3% during the first quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 2,976 shares of the company's stock worth $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Casey's General Stores by 3.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 285,089 shares of the company's stock worth $123,740,000 after purchasing an additional 8,560 shares during the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Casey's General Stores from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Casey's General Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Casey's General Stores from $468.00 to $542.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Casey's General Stores from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Casey's General Stores from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Casey's General Stores currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $467.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 2,000 shares of Casey's General Stores stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $506.07, for a total transaction of $1,012,140.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Thomas P. Brennan, Jr. sold 6,600 shares of Casey's General Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $506.03, for a total value of $3,339,798.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,062,663. The trade was a 75.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,646 shares of company stock valued at $22,136,614 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Casey's General Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CASY opened at $518.97 on Friday. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $350.52 and a fifty-two week high of $531.24. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $506.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $457.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $19.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.45 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Casey's General Stores Increases Dividend

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

About Casey's General Stores

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.

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