The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases Shares of 18,449 Casey’s General Stores, Inc. $CASY

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 18,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,663,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Casey’s General Stores in the second quarter valued at $1,222,000. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY increased its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 103.5% in the first quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 2,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in Casey’s General Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $720,000. Finally, Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $1,338,000. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CASY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Northcoast Research raised shares of 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 note on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $913.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $990.00 price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Friday, June 12th. Capital One Financial began coverage on Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $896.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on 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. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $942.87.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Allison M. Wing sold 530 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $837.58, for a total value of $443,917.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,547,918.36. This represents a 14.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $838.16, for a total value of $4,777,512.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $24,874,074.32. The trade was a 16.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 30,243 shares of company stock valued at $24,421,877 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Casey’s General Stores stock opened at $755.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $490.00 and a twelve month high of $927.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.96 billion, a PE ratio of 39.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $831.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $781.32.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $1.06. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 18.73% and a net margin of 4.07%.The company had revenue of $4.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.63 EPS. Casey’s General Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Saturday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. 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. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.57%.

Casey’s General Stores Company 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.