Silvant Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. $CASY

Silvant Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,157,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CASY. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Lincoln Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Lincoln Capital LLC now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 5,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,839,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:CASY opened at $828.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $838.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $775.47. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $490.00 and a 1-year high of $927.85. The firm has a market cap of $30.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.61.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $4.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $4.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 21.11 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This is an increase from Casey’s General Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CASY shares. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $990.00 target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Friday, June 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Monday, June 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $913.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. William Blair began coverage on Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Capital One Financial started coverage on Casey’s General Stores in a report on Monday, June 22nd. They issued 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $944.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $24,874,074.32. This trade represents a 16.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Allison M. Wing sold 530 shares of Casey’s General Stores 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 completion of the transaction, the director 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 30,243 shares of company stock worth $24,421,877. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.