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

Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $683,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the first quarter worth $33,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Casey’s General Stores during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 252.4% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 74 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. RMG Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Casey’s General Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Down 1.7%

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

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $4.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.63 EPS. Casey’s General Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 21.14 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 1st were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend 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 was Friday, July 31st. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CASY shares. William Blair assumed coverage on Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. 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. 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. Weiss Ratings lowered Casey’s General Stores from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Fourteen investment 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, Casey’s General Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $944.20.

Insider Transactions at Casey’s General Stores

In other news, Director Allison M. Wing sold 530 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 3,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,547,918.36. The trade was a 14.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 6,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,334,400. The trade was a 23.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 30,243 shares of company stock valued at $24,421,877. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

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.