HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. $CASY

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its stake in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 19.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,750 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,069 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $7,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new position in Casey’s General Stores in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Casey’s General Stores by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Casey’s General Stores by 350.0% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 54 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in Casey’s General Stores by 52.8% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 55 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in Casey’s General Stores in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on CASY shares. William Blair started coverage on Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $680.00 price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $830.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $700.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $915.00 target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $752.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mike Spanos purchased 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $665.43 per share, for a total transaction of $199,629.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 4,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,993,769.57. This trade represents a 7.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 200 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.04, for a total value of $136,608.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 4,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,758,798.56. This trade represents a 4.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of Casey’s General Stores stock opened at $809.41 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $774.55 and a 200-day moving average of $663.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $29.92 billion, a PE ratio of 46.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.65. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $433.16 and a 1-year high of $901.00.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 3.83%.The company’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 18.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.09%.

Casey’s General Stores Company Profile

Casey’s General Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: CASY) is a U.S.-based convenience store chain that operates retail fuel stations and food-focused convenience outlets. Founded in 1959 in Boone, Iowa, the company has grown from a single neighborhood store into a regional operator known for combining traditional convenience retailing—fuel, packaged goods and tobacco—with a larger emphasis on fresh and prepared foods.

The company’s stores typically offer gasoline and diesel alongside a range of grocery essentials, grab-and-go items and made-to-order foodservice.