Empowered Funds LLC Takes $5.01 Million Position in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. $CASY

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,013,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CASY. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Casey’s General Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,759,895,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 179,938.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,659,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,469,747,000 after acquiring an additional 2,657,687 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,068,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,671,000 after acquiring an additional 310,470 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 760,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,416,000 after acquiring an additional 52,250 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 64,154 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CASY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Northcoast Research raised Casey’s General Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $950.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $695.00 to $795.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Stephens set a $975.00 price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Capital One Financial assumed coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Monday, June 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $896.00 price objective for the company. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $942.87.

Insider Transactions at Casey’s General Stores

In related news, insider Chad Michael Frazell sold 3,013 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $787.49, for a total transaction of $2,372,707.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,735,514.27. This trade represents a 23.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Darren M. Rebelez sold 19,000 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $801.46, for a total value of $15,227,740.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 89,174 shares in the company, valued at $71,469,394.04. This trade represents a 17.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,243 shares of company stock worth $24,421,877. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ CASY opened at $752.21 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $830.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $782.87. The firm has a market cap of $27.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.26, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $490.00 and a 1 year high of $927.85.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $4.37 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $4.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 21.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Casey’s General Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio 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.