Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $68.08 Million Stock Holdings in Casey's General Stores, Inc. $CASY

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its stake in Casey's by 2.4% to 123,183 shares, valued at approximately $68.08 million (about 0.33% of the company) after selling 3,000 shares.
• Institutional ownership is high at 85.63%, and several funds materially increased positions—most notably M&T Bank (up to 193,140 shares, a 15,024.5% increase, valued at ~$106.75M) and large additions from Vontobel, Victory Capital, Barclays and Squarepoint.
• Casey's posted an EPS beat ($3.49 vs. $2.94 est.) but slightly missed revenue estimates, while analysts give an average "Moderate Buy" rating with a mean price target of $722.36; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.57 (yield ~0.3%).

Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 123,183 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.33% of Casey's General Stores worth $68,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CASY. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 129.1% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 890,884 shares of the company's stock worth $503,635,000 after purchasing an additional 502,104 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Casey's General Stores by 35.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 791,415 shares of the company's stock valued at $447,403,000 after buying an additional 206,777 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Casey's General Stores by 15,024.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 193,140 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,750,000 after buying an additional 191,863 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in Casey's General Stores by 717.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,106 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,946,000 after buying an additional 139,647 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in Casey's General Stores by 146.4% during the third quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 157,119 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,823,000 after buying an additional 93,366 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CASY shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Bank of America started coverage on Casey's General Stores in a research report on Friday, January 9th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Zacks Research lowered Casey's General Stores from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Casey's General Stores from $600.00 to $706.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Casey's General Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $722.36.

Insider Activity

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

Casey's General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of CASY stock opened at $782.91 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $430.00 and a fifty-two week high of $787.36. The stock's 50-day moving average is $702.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $617.32. The firm has a market cap of $28.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.94, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.61.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.55. Casey's General Stores had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 3.83%.The company had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. The business's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 18.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Dividend Announcement

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

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.