Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its position in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY – Get Rating) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,570 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,378 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.17% of Casey’s General Stores worth $13,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 500,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,939,000 after acquiring an additional 17,660 shares during the last quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Casey’s General Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $208,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Casey’s General Stores by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 146,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,778,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its position in Casey’s General Stores by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 34,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 17,136 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Casey’s General Stores by 35.3% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 21,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,819,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Credit Suisse Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $254.00 price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Thursday, March 9th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Thursday, March 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $268.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 8th. StockNews.com started coverage on Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $247.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Friday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $260.50.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CASY opened at $227.22 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $226.08. The company has a market cap of $8.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.89 and a beta of 0.82. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.40 and a 12-month high of $249.90.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 8th. The company reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 18.02% and a net margin of 2.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 11.66 EPS for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 1st were given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 28th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.64%.

Casey’s General Stores Company Profile

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Casey’s General Stores, Inc engages in the 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.