Casey's General Stores, Inc. $CASY Shares Bought by Advisors Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 1.1%, owning 45,985 shares valued at approximately $19.96 million.
• Casey's General Stores reported a strong quarterly performance with earnings per share of $5.77, surpassing analysts' expectations, and has a revenue increase of 11.5% year-over-year.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Casey's stock, with Jefferies Financial Group setting a new target of $600 and maintaining a "buy" rating.

Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,985 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Casey's General Stores worth $19,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 190.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,244,311 shares of the company's stock worth $540,081,000 after purchasing an additional 816,110 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 42.0% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,036,426 shares of the company's stock valued at $449,851,000 after buying an additional 306,628 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 8.9% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 649,815 shares of the company's stock valued at $282,045,000 after buying an additional 52,939 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 54,448.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 543,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,054,000 after buying an additional 542,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 51.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 515,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $223,792,000 after buying an additional 175,372 shares in the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CASY. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Casey's General Stores from $560.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $530.00 target price on shares of Casey's General Stores in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Casey's General Stores from $468.00 to $542.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Casey's General Stores from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Casey's General Stores from $515.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $505.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 760 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.56, for a total transaction of $385,745.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 25,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,193,514.64. This trade represents a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $506.07, for a total transaction of $1,012,140.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 4,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,346,140.52. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,646 shares of company stock valued at $21,634,454 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Casey's General Stores Price Performance

Shares of CASY traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $553.89. 315,102 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 359,081. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $516.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $472.43. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $362.42 and a 52-week high of $559.37. The company has a market cap of $20.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.55 and a beta of 0.66.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, September 8th. The company reported $5.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.02 by $0.75. Casey's General Stores had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The firm had revenue of $4.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.83 earnings per share. Casey's General Stores's revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Saturday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.