Plato Investment Management Ltd Makes New $683,000 Investment in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. $CASY

Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $683,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the first quarter valued at $33,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 250.0% in the first quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the first quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 252.4% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 74 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Down 1.7%

CASY stock opened at $855.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $841.81 and a 200 day moving average of $772.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.64 billion, a PE ratio of 44.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $490.00 and a 52 week high of $927.85.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $4.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $1.06. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 4.07% and a return on equity of 18.73%. The business had revenue of $4.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. Casey’s General Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 21.14 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from Casey’s General Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.57%.

Insider Activity

In other Casey’s General Stores news, Director Allison M. Wing sold 530 shares of Casey’s General Stores 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 owned 3,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,547,918.36. The trade was a 14.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 2,000 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $800.00, for a total value of $1,600,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 6,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,334,400. This represents a 23.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,243 shares of company stock valued at $24,421,877. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. William Blair began coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Casey’s General Stores to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $1,032.00 to $995.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $950.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $944.20.

About Casey’s General Stores

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.