Dearborn Partners LLC Purchases New Shares in Casey's General Stores, Inc. $CASY

Key Points

• Dearborn Partners acquired 77,759 Casey’s shares worth approximately $56.6 million, making the convenience-store chain its third-largest holding and representing about 3.0% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 85.63% of CASY.
• Casey’s reported quarterly EPS of $4.37, beating estimates by $1.06, while revenue rose 14.5% year over year to $4.57 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.57 to $0.65 per share.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $944.20, compared with shares recently trading at $854.21. However, company insiders sold more than 30,000 shares worth approximately $24.4 million over the past three months.

Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new position in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 77,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,597,000. Casey's General Stores accounts for about 3.0% of Dearborn Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Dearborn Partners LLC owned about 0.21% of Casey's General Stores at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ames National Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $954,000. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new position in Casey's General Stores during the second quarter worth approximately $6,177,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new position in Casey's General Stores during the second quarter worth approximately $2,049,000. Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Casey's General Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $556,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $17,713,000. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Casey's General Stores Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:CASY opened at $854.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.58, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.61. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $490.00 and a 12-month high of $927.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $836.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $778.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.31 by $1.06. The company had revenue of $4.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.33 billion. Casey's General Stores had a net margin of 4.07% and a return on equity of 18.73%. Casey's General Stores's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 21.11 EPS for the current year.

Casey's General Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 1st were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Casey's General Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CASY. William Blair began coverage on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Casey's General Stores from $805.00 to $945.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research report on Monday, June 15th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Casey's General Stores from $950.00 to $970.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Capital One Financial assumed coverage on Casey's General Stores in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $896.00 target price on the stock. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $944.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 5,700 shares of Casey's General Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $838.16, for a total value of $4,777,512.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,874,074.32. This trade represents a 16.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Allison M. Wing sold 530 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $837.58, for a total value of $443,917.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,042 shares in the company, valued at $2,547,918.36. This trade represents a 14.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 30,243 shares of company stock worth $24,421,877 in the last three months. 0.67% 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source