Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $14.94 Million Holdings in Casey's General Stores, Inc. $CASY

Key Points

• Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in Casey's General Stores by 11.9% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 20,519 shares worth about $14.94 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains upbeat, with multiple analysts raising targets or upgrading the stock; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $940.
• Casey's reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also raised its dividend to $0.65 per share from $0.57.

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,519 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,183 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.06% of Casey's General Stores worth $14,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted 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 valued at $1,469,747,000 after purchasing an additional 2,657,687 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 310,470 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 52,250 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 572,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,234,000 after buying an additional 64,154 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $265,163,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Northcoast Research upgraded Casey's General Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $950.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday. Capital One Financial started coverage on Casey's General Stores in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $896.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Casey's General Stores from $910.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Casey's General Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,069.00 target price on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $940.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 5,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,874,074.32. The trade was a 16.11% decrease in their position. The sale 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 dated Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $837.58, for a total transaction of $443,917.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,547,918.36. The trade was a 14.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,243 shares of company stock valued at $24,421,877. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Casey's General Stores Stock Up 2.3%

NASDAQ CASY opened at $827.04 on Friday. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $490.00 and a 1-year high of $927.85. The company has a market capitalization of $30.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.16, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.62. The stock's 50 day moving average is $822.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $730.75. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $4.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.31 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $4.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.33 billion. Casey's General Stores had a return on equity of 18.73% and a net margin of 4.07%.Casey's General Stores's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.63 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 21.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is an increase 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 is Friday, July 31st. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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