Benjamin Edwards Inc. Purchases 16,574 Shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Casey's General Stores by 14.8%, now owning approximately 128,458 shares valued at about $55.76 million.
• Casey's General Stores recently reported a Q4 earnings of $2.63 per share, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.94, with revenues reaching $3.99 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.57 per share, up from $0.50, representing an annualized dividend of $2.28 with a dividend yield of 0.4%.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 14.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,458 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,574 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned approximately 0.35% of Casey's General Stores worth $55,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CASY. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Casey's General Stores by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 100,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,734,000 after purchasing an additional 23,541 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 294,634 shares of the company's stock worth $116,743,000 after buying an additional 47,710 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $1,079,000. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 18,202 shares of the company's stock worth $7,213,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Finally, Seeds Investor LLC grew its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Seeds Investor LLC now owns 1,291 shares of the company's stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,346,140.52. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Darren M. Rebelez sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.83, for a total transaction of $10,156,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 89,840 shares in the company, valued at $45,623,447.20. This trade represents a 18.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,646 shares of company stock worth $22,136,614. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Casey's General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CASY traded up $0.69 during trading on Friday, reaching $518.97. 209,420 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 258,051. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $506.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $457.42. 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 capitalization of $19.30 billion, a PE ratio of 35.45 and a beta of 0.69. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $350.52 and a 52-week high of $531.24.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.95 billion. Casey's General Stores had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Casey's General Stores Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CASY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Casey's General Stores from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Casey's General Stores from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Casey's General Stores from $468.00 to $542.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $490.00 price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $467.33.

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.