Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Shares Bought by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 1.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,400 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $4,514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CASY. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC lifted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 325.0% during the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 68 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 160.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores during the 1st quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,000. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Casey’s General Stores

In other Casey’s General Stores news, CEO Darren M. Rebelez sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.83, for a total transaction of $10,156,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 89,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,623,447.20. This trade represents a 18.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chad Michael Frazell sold 4,808 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.97, for a total transaction of $2,423,087.76. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,785,575.60. The trade was a 29.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,646 shares of company stock worth $22,136,614 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CASY opened at $516.59 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $477.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $439.63. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $350.52 and a 12 month high of $526.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.29 and a beta of 0.69.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 9th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.69. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. Casey’s General Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is an increase from Casey’s General Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $468.00 to $542.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Casey’s General Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $465.25.

About Casey’s General Stores

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.