Advisors Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Casey's General Stores, Inc. $CASY

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management increased its stake in Casey's by 2.6% to 49,629 shares (about $27.43M), and several other institutions (Victory, M&T, Barclays, Squarepoint, Hennessy) also materially added positions, leaving institutional ownership at 85.63%.
• Casey's beat quarterly EPS estimates ($3.49 vs. $2.94) while missing revenue ($3.92B vs. $4.08B); the stock trades near its 1‑year high (~$799) with a market cap of $29.6B, a P/E of 45.9, and a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $725.09 target.
• Casey's declared a quarterly dividend of $0.57 ($2.28 annual) with an ex‑dividend/record date of May 1 and a yield of 0.3%, implying a payout ratio of 13.09%.

Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 49,629 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,274 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned about 0.13% of Casey's General Stores worth $27,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CASY. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 35.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 791,415 shares of the company's stock worth $447,403,000 after purchasing an additional 206,777 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 15,024.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 193,140 shares of the company's stock worth $106,750,000 after purchasing an additional 191,863 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 717.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,106 shares of the company's stock worth $89,946,000 after purchasing an additional 139,647 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 146.4% in the third quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 157,119 shares of the company's stock worth $88,823,000 after purchasing an additional 93,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 361.4% in the third quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 101,500 shares of the company's stock worth $57,380,000 after purchasing an additional 79,500 shares during the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Casey's General Stores news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.04, for a total transaction of $136,608.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 4,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,758,798.56. The trade was a 4.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mike Spanos acquired 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $665.43 per share, for a total transaction of $199,629.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 4,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,993,769.57. The trade was a 7.14% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Casey's General Stores Price Performance

Casey's General Stores stock opened at $799.52 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $707.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $620.65. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $430.00 and a 1 year high of $802.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.08 billion. Casey's General Stores had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 18.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Casey's General Stores's payout ratio is 13.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on CASY shares. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $680.00 target price on shares of Casey's General Stores in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Casey's General Stores from $662.00 to $713.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on Casey's General Stores from $600.00 to $706.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Bank of America started coverage on Casey's General Stores in a report on Friday, January 9th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Casey's General Stores from $830.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $725.09.

Casey's General Stores 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.

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