Diversify Advisory Services LLC Takes Position in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. $CASY

Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,699,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 worth $420,416,000 after buying an additional 52,250 shares during the period. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY lifted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 103.5% in the 1st quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 2,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in Casey’s General Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $720,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,338,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 52.0% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 17,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,431,000 after purchasing an additional 5,846 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CASY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $719.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $1,032.00 to $995.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $695.00 to $795.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $990.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Fourteen equities research 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $944.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Allison M. Wing sold 530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $837.58, for a total value of $443,917.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,547,918.36. This represents a 14.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 5,700 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $838.16, for a total transaction of $4,777,512.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,874,074.32. This trade represents a 16.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,243 shares of company stock worth $24,421,877. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of CASY stock opened at $836.15 on Thursday. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $490.00 and a 52-week high of $927.85. The stock has a market cap of $30.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.64, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $840.22 and its 200-day moving average is $773.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $4.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $4.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.33 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 18.73% and a net margin of 4.07%.The business’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 21.14 EPS for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Casey’s General Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.57%.

Casey’s General Stores 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.