Security Financial Services INC. Takes $300,000 Position in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Key Points

• Security Financial Services INC. acquired 692 shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. for approximately $300,000 in the first quarter, reflecting increasing institutional interest in the company.
• Casey's General Stores reported $2.63 earnings per share for the latest quarter, significantly exceeding analysts’ expectations of $1.94, with revenue increasing by 10.9% year-over-year.
• The company plans to increase its quarterly dividend to $0.57 per share, up from the previous $0.50, indicating a positive outlook for shareholders.

Security Financial Services INC. purchased a new stake in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 692 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $300,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC raised its position in Casey's General Stores by 4.1% during the first quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 590 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the company's stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY lifted its position in Casey's General Stores by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 1,204 shares of the company's stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in Casey's General Stores by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $812,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Casey's General Stores by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Casey's General Stores from $460.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $490.00 price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Casey's General Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. 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.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $467.33.

Casey's General Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CASY traded down $3.08 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $521.96. 254,187 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 365,048. The company has a market cap of $19.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.65 and a beta of 0.69. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $350.52 and a 1 year high of $531.24. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $492.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $449.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last released its 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 company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.95 billion. Casey's General Stores had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. This is an increase from Casey's General Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casey's General Stores

In related news, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 760 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.56, for a total transaction of $385,745.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,994 shares in the company, valued at $13,193,514.64. This trade represents a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mike Spanos acquired 200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $503.18 per share, for a total transaction of $100,636.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,791,320.80. This represents a 5.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 43,646 shares of company stock valued at $22,136,614. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

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.