Rafferty Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,817 shares of the company’s stock after selling 163 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $236,500,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $175,607,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 160.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 428,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,666,000 after acquiring an additional 263,545 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 678,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,952,000 after acquiring an additional 154,541 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 758,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,090,000 after acquiring an additional 119,350 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casey’s General Stores

In other Casey’s General Stores news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.01, for a total value of $109,252.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,067,615.43. This represents a 9.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mike Spanos acquired 256 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $390.54 per share, for a total transaction of $99,978.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,310,652.24. The trade was a 8.26% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of CASY stock opened at $444.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $441.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $421.37. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $313.89 and a fifty-two week high of $474.97.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 1st. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CASY. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $438.00 price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $430.33.

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.