Casey's General Stores, Inc. $CASY Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its Casey’s General Stores stake by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 13,588 shares and leaving it with 177,568 shares valued at about $98.2 million.
• Casey’s reported strong quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $3.49 versus estimates of $2.94, though revenue of $3.92 billion came in below expectations.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the stock, with several firms raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at Moderate Buy; Casey’s also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.57 per share.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 177,568 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,588 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.48% of Casey's General Stores worth $98,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Casey's General Stores in the third quarter valued at $1,018,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 4.4% in the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 48,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,336,000 after acquiring an additional 2,026 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 61.6% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 980 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 82.3% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,456,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162 shares during the period. Finally, Dillon & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 25.1% in the third quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 25,737 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,541,000 after acquiring an additional 5,161 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Casey's General Stores news, Director Mike Spanos bought 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $665.43 per share, with a total value of $199,629.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,499 shares in the company, valued at $2,993,769.57. This trade represents a 7.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 200 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 4,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,758,798.56. This represents a 4.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on CASY. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Casey's General Stores from $700.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Casey's General Stores from $725.00 to $745.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Casey's General Stores from $830.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Casey's General Stores from $662.00 to $713.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Northcoast Research downgraded Casey's General Stores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $725.09.

Casey's General Stores Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of CASY stock opened at $877.48 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $748.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $645.66. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $430.00 and a twelve month high of $901.00. The company has a market capitalization of $32.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.37, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.33 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 18.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Announces Dividend

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

Casey's General Stores Company 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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