Casey's General Stores, Inc. $CASY Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Key Points

• Clearbridge Investments reduced its Casey’s General Stores stake by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 84,911 shares and leaving it with 629,089 shares valued at about $347.7 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 85.63% of the stock; Geode Capital Management also increased its position during the period.
• Analyst sentiment is mostly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $761.36, while Casey’s also recently beat earnings estimates with $3.49 EPS.

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 629,089 shares of the company's stock after selling 84,911 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 1.70% of Casey's General Stores worth $347,704,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 760,438 shares of the company's stock worth $420,416,000 after acquiring an additional 52,250 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in Casey's General Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $720,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Casey's General Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,338,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Casey's General Stores by 4.4% during the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 48,355 shares of the company's stock worth $27,336,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its position in Casey's General Stores by 61.6% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,572 shares of the company's stock worth $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 980 shares in the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CASY. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $915.00 price target on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $680.00 price target on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Casey's General Stores from $745.00 to $910.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Casey's General Stores from $530.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Casey's General Stores currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $761.36.

Insider Activity at Casey's General Stores

In other news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.04, for a total value of $136,608.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 4,039 shares in the company, valued at $2,758,798.56. This trade represents a 4.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mike Spanos bought 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $665.43 per share, for a total transaction of $199,629.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,993,769.57. This represents a 7.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Casey's General Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ CASY opened at $761.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $28.16 billion, a PE ratio of 43.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.61. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $788.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $675.39. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $433.63 and a 1-year high of $901.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $3.92 billion for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 18.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Casey's General Stores

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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