Blair William & Co. IL Acquires 5,652 Shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Casey's General Stores by 390.3% in Q1, owning a total of 7,100 shares valued at approximately $3,082,000.
• Casey's reported a record earnings per share (EPS) of $2.63 for the last quarter, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.94.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.50 to $0.57 per share, scheduled for payment on August 15th, representing an annualized yield of 0.4%.

Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 390.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,100 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,652 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Casey's General Stores were worth $3,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CASY. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 4.1% in the first quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 590 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY increased its position in Casey's General Stores by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 1,204 shares of the company's stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in Casey's General Stores by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,870 shares of the company's stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Casey's General Stores by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC increased its position in Casey's General Stores by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the company's stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on CASY shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on 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. Wall Street Zen raised Casey's General Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $490.00 price target on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Casey's General Stores from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $467.33.

Insider Transactions at Casey's General Stores

In other news, insider Thomas P. Brennan, Jr. sold 6,600 shares of Casey's General Stores stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,062,663. This trade represents a 75.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chad Michael Frazell sold 4,808 shares of Casey's General Stores stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.97, for a total value of $2,423,087.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,785,575.60. This trade represents a 29.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have 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 Stock Performance

CASY traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $518.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 209,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 261,318. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $506.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $457.08. The stock has a market cap of $19.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.45 and a beta of 0.69. 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 twelve month low of $350.52 and a twelve month high of $531.24.

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

Casey's General Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This is a positive change from Casey's General Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. 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.