South Dakota Investment Council Boosts Stock Holdings in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

South Dakota Investment Council increased its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 28.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,065 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $3,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CASY. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 400.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 616 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 1.1% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 250.1% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 1,188 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 15.5% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 8,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,321,000 after buying an additional 1,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 4.6% in the third quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 29,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,984,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $451.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $403.00 to $428.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.00.

Casey’s General Stores Price Performance

Casey’s General Stores stock opened at $405.59 on Monday. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $288.11 and a 12-month high of $445.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $410.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $397.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.56. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mike Spanos bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $396.76 per share, with a total value of $198,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,228,765.72. The trade was a 19.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $427.13, for a total transaction of $192,208.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,247 shares in the company, valued at $959,761.11. This represents a 16.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Company 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.