Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Acquires New Position in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $901,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 3.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,046,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,305,000 after buying an additional 38,226 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 18.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 758,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,090,000 after buying an additional 119,350 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 655,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,335,000 after buying an additional 8,428 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Casey’s General Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $236,500,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 49.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 524,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,861,000 after buying an additional 174,586 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $450.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $438.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Casey’s General Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $423.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casey’s General Stores

In other news, Director Mike Spanos acquired 256 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $390.54 per share, with a total value of $99,978.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,356 shares in the company, valued at $1,310,652.24. This trade represents a 8.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Casey’s General Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CASY opened at $395.63 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $409.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $399.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.68 billion, a PE ratio of 27.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.87. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $297.09 and a fifty-two week high of $445.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.94%.

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.