Avestar Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Avestar Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 3.8% during the 3rd 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 period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 119,350 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 8,428 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 49.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 524,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,861,000 after acquiring an additional 174,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 273,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,694,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Casey’s General Stores Trading Down 2.3 %

CASY opened at $432.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.12, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $410.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $395.29. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $284.57 and a 12 month high of $445.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CASY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $451.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Casey’s General Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.00.

Insider Transactions at Casey’s General Stores

In related news, Director Mike Spanos acquired 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $396.76 per share, with a total value of $198,380.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,228,765.72. This trade represents a 19.25 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of Casey’s General Stores 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 owns 2,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $959,761.11. This trade represents a 16.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

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.