James Investment Research Inc. Raises Stock Position in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

James Investment Research Inc. increased its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,561 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 632 shares during the period. James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $3,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake 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 worth $393,305,000 after buying an additional 38,226 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 758,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,090,000 after purchasing an additional 119,350 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 655,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,335,000 after purchasing an additional 8,428 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 174,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 0.3% in 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CASY. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $451.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $403.00 to $428.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.00.

Insider Activity

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

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of CASY stock opened at $432.17 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $410.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $395.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.83. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $284.57 and a 12-month high of $445.17.

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

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.94%.

Casey’s General Stores 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.