CASY

Casey’s General Stores Executing Well

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Image Source: TradingView By Brian Nelson, CFA Casey’s General Stores (CASY) recently reported solid results for the first quarter of fiscal 2026. Revenue advanced 11.5% from the same period a year ago, while diluted earnings per share of $5.77 was up 19.5% from the same quarter last year. EBITDA of $414.3 million was up 19.8% from last year’s period. Inside same-store sales increased 4.3% compared to the prior year, and 6.7% on a two-year stacked basis, with an inside margin of 41.9%. Total inside gross profit increased 14.8%, while total fuel gross profit increased 18.8%. Management had the following to say about the results: Casey’s delivered an excellent first quarter highlighted by strong sales growth both inside and outside the … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of June 13

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending June 13. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week                          AGNC Investment Corp. 6.5% DP SH PFD E (AGNCO): now $0.6013 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.5976. AGNC Investment Corp. 6.875 DEP REP D (AGNCM): now $0.5595 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.5563. AGNC Investment Series C Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (AGNCN): now $0.6088 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.6050. AGNC INVT 1000 DR REP 1 SRS F PRF (AGNCP): now $0.5826 per … Read more

Magnificent 7 Earnings Reports Not Bad Thus Far

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By Brian Nelson, CFA   Shortly after Trump’s Liberation Day, where the President unveiled lofty tariffs on numerous countries, we released our wait-and-see outlook for the equity markets, which thus far has proven to be the right move, with the markets largely recovering from the depths reached in April. The S&P 500 (SPY), for example, is down just 3.3% year-to-date, excluding dividends.   A lot has happened since Liberation Day, including easing of tariffs to a 10% baseline for most, if not all, countries, with the key exception of China, where tariffs remain extremely elevated and prohibitive. Many countries are now reportedly negotiating trade agreements with the White House, and we expect China to be added to that list soon, even if … Read more

Trump Tariffs Higher than Expected; What We’re Doing

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By Brian Nelson, CFA The Trump tariff increases came in larger than what we were expecting, and it remains to be seen how they will flow through the global economy, as we monitor potential retaliatory tariffs from other countries. As it relates to the equity markets, we’re taking a wait and see approach at the moment as we monitor new policy changes related to trade, immigration, fiscal (tax), and regulations. In short, we’re not overreacting to the sell off as we won’t have a great handle on the tariff impact to companies for a few quarters when they report results post-tariff increases. That said, we’re expecting continued market volatility, with meaningful risk to the downside, before trade uncertainty alleviates in … Read more

Casey’s General Stores Is Executing Well

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Image: Shares of Casey’s General Stores have done quite well since the beginning of 2022. By Brian Nelson, CFA Casey’s General Stores (CASY) reported decent fiscal first quarter results on September 4. Total revenue advanced 5.9% as inside same-store sales increased 2.3% from the prior year, resulting in 7.9% growth on a two-year stacked basis. Its inside margin was 41.7%, while total inside gross profit increased 10.4% from the same period a year ago. Same-store fuel gallons were up 0.7% with the company generating a fuel margin of 40.7 cents per gallon. Total fuel gross profit increased 5.9%. Management was upbeat in the press release: Casey’s started the fiscal year off on the right foot and delivered another solid quarter … Read more

Paper: Value and Momentum Within Stocks, Too

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Please select the image below to download, “Value and Momentum Within Stocks, Too:” Abstract: This paper strives to advance the field of finance in four ways: 1) it extends the theory of the “The Arithmetic of Active Management” to the investor level; 2) it addresses certain data problems of factor-based methods, namely with respect to value and book-to-market ratios, while introducing price-to-fair-value ratios in a factor-based approach; 3) it may lay the foundation for academic literature regarding the Valuentum, the value-timing, and ultra-momentum factors; and 4) it walks through the potential relative outperformance that may be harvested at the intersection of relevant, unique and compensated factors within individual stocks. To download the full report, please click here (pdf). ———- Actual results … Read more

3 Substantial Benefits of Dividend Growth Investing

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Dear members: There are three primary benefits of a well-executed dividend growth strategy, one that is carried out with prudence and care and one that pays careful attention to the intrinsic value of the stock and its critical cash-based components. Albert Einstein is reported to have called compound interest the “eighth wonder of the world,” but dividend growth investing has the potential to offer long-term investors so much more! Let’s explain. 1) Reinvested Dividends Compound Over Time Over the past decade, I have grown to appreciate the compounding dynamics of reinvested dividends on appreciating stocks even more than historical studies have revealed. The strategy of dividend growth investing not only benefits from the reinvestment of dividends into the purchase of … Read more

6%+ Dividend Yielder Cracker Barrel Needs to Raise Menu Prices More Aggressively

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By Brian Nelson, CFA Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) is a high-yielding restaurant idea with a unique concept that has fallen on more difficult times of late. Our recent channel checks indicate that Cracker Barrel has a lot of room to raise prices versus peers, but the firm is having a hard time executing on this front as overall traffic trends remain challenged. Right now, Cracker Barrel yields ~6.3%, and if the company can turn things around, it might make for one of the most interesting income ideas on the market. The high end of our fair value estimate range of Cracker Barrel stands north of $100 (its shares are trading at ~$80 each), but investors should remain cautious … Read more

There Will Be Volatility

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By Brian Nelson, CFA Last year, 2022, was a big test for equity investors, and the downside volatility that we witnessed during the year wasn’t comfortable, to say the least. Following the COVID-19 crash and rebound during 2020, and then the market surge in 2021, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say many investors’ heads are probably still spinning from all the volatility witnessed to start this decade. That said, part of what we’ve been warning about the past few years with respect to the equity market, especially in Value Trap, is that the proliferation of price-agnostic trading (e.g. quant, machine/algorithmic trading, etc.) will only lead to more and more market volatility, so while we were somewhat surprised by last … Read more

Fed Rate Decision, UAW Strike Continues, Microsoft Ups Payout

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Image Source: Mike Mozart By Brian Nelson, CFA If you’re thinking like us about the ongoing Fed rate-hiking cycle, you’re probably thinking that perhaps we’ll see another rate hike or two down the road, even if the Fed pauses at today’s September 20 meeting. However, whether the Fed pauses from here on out or executes a couple more rate hikes, it really shouldn’t matter much to long-term investors. From where we stand, the conversation about interest rates should now be shifting away from worries about elevated inflation to the future positive prospects that correspond to the work that the Fed has already done. With the market-cap weighted S&P 500 (SPY) just a stone’s throw away from all-time highs, despite aggressive … Read more