West Bancorporation Inc. Acquires Shares of 545 Casey's General Stores, Inc. $CASY

Key Points

• West Bancorporation Inc. has purchased 545 shares of Casey's General Stores for approximately $278,000, indicating institutional interest in the company.
• Analysts upgraded Casey's General Stores with increased price targets, with projections now ranging from $540.00 to $600.00, reflecting positive sentiment about the stock's performance.
• Casey's General Stores reported earnings of $5.77 per share, surpassing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.57, further solidifying investor confidence.

West Bancorporation Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $278,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 0.5% during the second quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,247,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 1.4% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $812,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 40.0% during the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 2.1% during the first quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the company's stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CASY. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Casey's General Stores from $560.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Casey's General Stores from $515.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores from $468.00 to $542.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Casey's General Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Casey's General Stores presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $533.10.

Casey's General Stores Price Performance

CASY opened at $556.67 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.73 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $529.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $493.25. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $372.08 and a twelve month high of $571.57.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, September 8th. The company reported $5.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.02 by $0.75. The firm had revenue of $4.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. Casey's General Stores had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The company's revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS for the current year.

Casey's General Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, November 1st will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casey's General Stores

In other news, insider Chad Michael Frazell sold 3,487 shares of Casey's General Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.40, for a total value of $1,936,679.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,993 shares in the company, valued at $4,439,312.20. This trade represents a 30.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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