Denali Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Denali Advisors LLC reduced its position in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,422 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $1,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CASY. Soros Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 1,825.6% during the 3rd quarter. Soros Capital Management LLC now owns 27,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,382,000 after acquiring an additional 26,197 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 8,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 3,065 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Casey’s General Stores by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares during the period. JLB & Associates Inc. grew its position in Casey’s General Stores by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. now owns 43,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,049,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the period. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council raised its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 10,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,988,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Gordon Haskett upgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $424.00.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CASY opened at $416.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $15.44 billion, a PE ratio of 28.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.83. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $290.00 and a 1 year high of $445.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $410.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $397.79. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.17% and a net margin of 3.57%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.24 EPS. Casey’s General Stores’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 2,247 shares in the company, valued at $959,761.11. This trade represents a 16.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mike Spanos bought 500 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $396.76 per share, for a total transaction of $198,380.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.