Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Purchases 3,085 Shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. $CASY

Key Points

• Avantax Planning Partners increased its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 75.4% in Q4, buying 3,085 shares and bringing its total holding to 7,176 shares valued at about $3.97 million.
• Casey’s reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $3.49 per share, topping estimates by $0.55, though revenue of $3.92 billion came in below consensus. Analysts remain constructive overall, with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and target price around $725.09.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.57 per share, payable May 15, while insider trading was mixed: one executive sold shares and a director bought shares shortly after.

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lifted its position in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 75.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,176 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,085 shares during the quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.'s holdings in Casey's General Stores were worth $3,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Casey's General Stores by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,293 shares of the company's stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the company's stock valued at $840,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its holdings in shares of Casey's General Stores by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 2,712 shares of the company's stock worth $1,499,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Casey's General Stores by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 2,146 shares of the company's stock worth $1,186,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $475,000. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Casey's General Stores Price Performance

CASY opened at $877.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.37, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $430.00 and a 12-month high of $901.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $748.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $645.66.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 9th. The company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.55. Casey's General Stores had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 3.83%.The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 18.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CASY shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Casey's General Stores from $725.00 to $745.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Casey's General Stores from $700.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Casey's General Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $680.00 price target on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $725.09.

Insider Activity at Casey's General Stores

In related news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.04, for a total value of $136,608.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 4,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,758,798.56. The trade was a 4.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mike Spanos bought 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $665.43 per share, with a total value of $199,629.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 4,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,993,769.57. This trade represents a 7.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Casey's General Stores Company Profile

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.

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