Denali Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Denali Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,422 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $1,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,046,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,305,000 after purchasing an additional 38,226 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 18.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 758,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,090,000 after purchasing an additional 119,350 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 655,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,335,000 after buying an additional 8,428 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 49.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 524,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,861,000 after buying an additional 174,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 340,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,810,000 after buying an additional 3,321 shares during the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Casey’s General Stores Price Performance

CASY stock opened at $416.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $290.00 and a 1 year high of $445.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $410.15 and a 200 day moving average of $397.79. The company has a market cap of $15.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.83.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last announced its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.56. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 17.17% and a net margin of 3.57%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.24 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CASY. Gordon Haskett upgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $403.00 to $428.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $424.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $427.13, for a total value of $192,208.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $959,761.11. The trade was a 16.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mike Spanos purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $396.76 per share, for a total transaction of $198,380.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,097 shares in the company, valued at $1,228,765.72. The trade was a 19.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Profile

Casey’s General Stores, Inc engages in the provision of management and operation of convenience stores and gasoline stations. It provides self-service gasoline, a wide selection of grocery items, and an array of freshly prepared food items. The firm offers food, beverages, tobacco products, health and beauty aids, automotive products, and other non-food items.