Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 11.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 269,426 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 26,822 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.73% of Casey's General Stores worth $116,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 590 shares of the company's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Casey's General Stores by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the company's stock valued at $628,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY raised its position in Casey's General Stores by 2.1% in the first quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 1,204 shares of the company's stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in Casey's General Stores by 1.4% in the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $812,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its position in Casey's General Stores by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 902 shares of the company's stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Casey's General Stores Trading Down 2.4%

NASDAQ CASY traded down $12.55 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $513.61. 198,610 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 302,934. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $472.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $436.64. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $350.52 and a 1-year high of $528.26. The firm has a market cap of $19.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.08 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, June 9th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.69. Casey's General Stores had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 3.43%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is an increase from Casey's General Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Casey's General Stores's payout ratio is currently 13.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CASY has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Casey's General Stores from $460.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Casey's General Stores from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Casey's General Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Casey's General Stores from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $490.00 price target on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $453.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Darren M. Rebelez sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.83, for a total transaction of $10,156,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 89,840 shares in the company, valued at $45,623,447.20. The trade was a 18.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.07, for a total value of $1,012,140.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 4,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,346,140.52. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,646 shares of company stock valued at $22,136,614. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

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.