Advisors Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. $CASY

Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,985 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 488 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned 0.12% of Casey’s General Stores worth $19,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WBI Investments LLC boosted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 39.7% during the first quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $631,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 129.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. lifted its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 1,773.7% during the first quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 17,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,767,000 after purchasing an additional 16,939 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 7.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 115,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,207,000 after purchasing an additional 7,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dean Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 2.2% during the first quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,728,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Casey’s General Stores

In related news, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.56, for a total transaction of $385,745.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 25,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,193,514.64. This trade represents a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Chad Michael Frazell sold 4,808 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.97, for a total value of $2,423,087.76. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,785,575.60. The trade was a 29.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,646 shares of company stock valued at $21,634,454 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CASY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $515.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $530.00 target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $505.25.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Casey’s General Stores stock opened at $538.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $20.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.56 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $362.42 and a 12 month high of $549.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $514.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $470.18.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 8th. The company reported $5.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.02 by $0.75. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 3.54%.The company had revenue of $4.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Saturday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.63%.

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.