First Trust Advisors LP Trims Holdings in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. $CASY

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 25.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,061 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,452 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $28,096,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CASY. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Casey’s General Stores during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Nvwm LLC acquired a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Rossby Financial LCC boosted its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 580.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 68 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Casey’s General Stores during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Casey’s General Stores in the first quarter valued at about $47,000. 85.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CASY has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $570.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $585.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $585.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chad Michael Frazell sold 3,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $555.40, for a total transaction of $1,936,679.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,993 shares in the company, valued at $4,439,312.20. The trade was a 30.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

CASY opened at $533.18 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $548.65 and a 200-day moving average of $524.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 1.03. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $372.08 and a 52-week high of $573.76. The company has a market cap of $19.82 billion, a PE ratio of 32.79 and a beta of 0.65.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $5.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.92 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $4.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.51 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 17.24%. Casey’s General Stores’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Sunday, February 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.63%.

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.