Fifth Third Bancorp Boosts Stock Holdings in Casey's General Stores, Inc. $CASY

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp massively increased its stake in Casey's General Stores in Q1, reporting ownership of 19,537 shares worth about $14.2 million after a 4,138% boost.
• Institutional interest remains strong, with several major funds adding to positions and 85.63% of the stock now held by institutional investors.
• Casey's also reported strong operating results and a dividend increase: Q1 EPS of $4.37 beat estimates, revenue rose 14.5%, and the quarterly dividend was raised to $0.65 per share from $0.57.

Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 4,138.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,537 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 19,076 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned approximately 0.05% of Casey's General Stores worth $14,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 179,938.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,659,164 shares of the company's stock worth $1,469,747,000 after acquiring an additional 2,657,687 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,068,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $590,671,000 after purchasing an additional 310,470 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 760,438 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,416,000 after purchasing an additional 52,250 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Casey's General Stores by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 572,152 shares of the company's stock worth $316,234,000 after purchasing an additional 64,154 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Casey's General Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $265,163,000. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Casey's General Stores

In related news, insider Chad Michael Frazell sold 3,013 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $787.49, for a total transaction of $2,372,707.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,823 shares in the company, valued at $7,735,514.27. The trade was a 23.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 5,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $838.16, for a total value of $4,777,512.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $24,874,074.32. This represents a 16.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 30,243 shares of company stock valued at $24,421,877 in the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Capital One Financial initiated coverage on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $896.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Casey's General Stores from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $950.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Casey's General Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Casey's General Stores from $794.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Casey's General Stores from $805.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Fourteen 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $940.00.

Casey's General Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CASY opened at $847.19 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $824.04 and a 200 day moving average of $727.24. The stock has a market cap of $31.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.62. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $490.00 and a 12 month high of $927.85. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $1.06. The business 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 21.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Saturday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a positive change from Casey's General Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio is 11.90%.

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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