Van ECK Associates Corp Invests $2.62 Million in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 9,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,623,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LexAurum Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 12.8% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 5.0% during the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 1,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 4.7% during the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $312.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $312.63.

Casey’s General Stores Trading Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:CASY opened at $329.86 on Wednesday. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.50 and a 12 month high of $330.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $311.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $12.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.22, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.82.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 12th. The company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.13. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 16.70%. The business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 12.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.67%.

Casey’s General Stores 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.