UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Invests $7.82 Million in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. $CASY

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,816,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Casey’s General Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,759,895,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 179,938.2% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,659,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,469,747,000 after purchasing an additional 2,657,687 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,068,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,671,000 after purchasing an additional 310,470 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $420,416,000 after buying an additional 52,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 572,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,234,000 after buying an additional 64,154 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casey’s General Stores

In other Casey’s General Stores news, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 5,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $838.16, for a total value 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 represents a 16.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 6,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,334,400. This represents a 23.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 30,243 shares of company stock worth $24,421,877 over the last three months. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CASY opened at $870.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.20 billion, a PE ratio of 45.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $490.00 and a 12-month high of $927.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $839.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $770.63.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 18.73% and a net margin of 4.07%.The company had revenue of $4.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate 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 business also recently announced 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. This is a boost from Casey’s General Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 13.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CASY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $990.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Friday, June 12th. Northcoast Research upgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $950.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,069.00 price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $910.00 to $960.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Casey’s General Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $944.20.

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.