Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. $CASY

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 253,078 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,776 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.68% of Casey’s General Stores worth $143,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Steph & Co. lifted its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 2.2% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC raised its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 724 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,247,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,116,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CASY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $610.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $662.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Stephens raised their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $585.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $530.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Casey’s General Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $624.09.

Casey’s General Stores Price Performance

CASY stock opened at $625.86 on Tuesday. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $372.08 and a 12 month high of $647.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $581.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $549.69. The stock has a market cap of $23.20 billion, a PE ratio of 38.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.67.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $5.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $4.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, February 1st will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 14.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Casey’s General Stores news, Director Moats Maria Castanon bought 300 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $554.66 per share, for a total transaction of $166,398.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,391.98. This trade represents a 59.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Casey’s General Stores Profile

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.