Advisors Capital Management LLC Buys 2,026 Shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. $CASY

Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,355 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,026 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned 0.13% of Casey’s General Stores worth $27,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First National Bank of Omaha purchased a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,242,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 61.6% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 980 shares in the last quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. raised its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 3,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,932,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 69.8% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 90 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 12,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,134,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Casey’s General Stores Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ CASY opened at $661.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.68. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $372.08 and a fifty-two week high of $678.67. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $601.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $560.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $5.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.92 by $0.61. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The firm had revenue of $4.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.85 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, February 1st were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is 14.02%.

Insider Transactions at Casey’s General Stores

In other Casey’s General Stores news, Director Moats Maria Castanon bought 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $554.66 per share, for a total transaction of $166,398.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,391.98. This trade represents a 59.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CASY. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $610.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore boosted their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $585.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Friday, January 9th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.50.

About Casey’s General Stores

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.