Oak Ridge Investments LLC Takes Position in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Oak Ridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $658,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $115,799,000. Congress Asset Management Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the first quarter worth about $112,081,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 561.7% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 273,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,050,000 after acquiring an additional 231,887 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 113.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 291,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,936,000 after acquiring an additional 154,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 1,044.0% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 117,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,412,000 after acquiring an additional 107,662 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of CASY traded up $13.51 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $379.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 180,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 283,335. The company’s 50 day moving average is $371.99 and its 200 day moving average is $331.82. The stock has a market cap of $14.10 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.80. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $238.44 and a 12-month high of $401.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.64. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 17.25%. The company had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Casey’s General Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $305.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $393.00 target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Monday, July 29th. Northcoast Research upgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $410.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $420.00 to $444.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $410.22.

Casey’s General Stores Company Profile

Casey's General Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates convenience stores under the Casey's and Casey's General Store names. Its stores offer pizza, donuts, breakfast items, and sandwiches; and tobacco and nicotine products. The company's stores provide soft drinks, energy, water, sports drinks, juices, coffee, and tea and dairy products; beer, wine, and spirits; snacks, candy, packaged bakery, and other food items; ice, ice cream, meals, and appetizers; health and beauty aids, automotive products, electronic accessories, housewares, and pet supplies; and ATM, lotto/lottery, and prepaid cards.