Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Decreases Holdings in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lessened its position in shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,452 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,548 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 0.16% of Casey's General Stores worth $23,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Casey's General Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Casey's General Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Casey's General Stores by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 149 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Casey's General Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $79,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Casey's General Stores by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Casey's General Stores Price Performance

Shares of Casey's General Stores stock traded up $3.55 on Friday, reaching $459.09. The stock had a trading volume of 72,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 285,375. The business's 50 day moving average is $426.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $415.21. The company has a market cap of $17.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $313.67 and a 1 year high of $468.88.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.57. Casey's General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The company had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.33 earnings per share. Casey's General Stores's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS for the current year.

Casey's General Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio is 13.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CASY. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Casey's General Stores in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Casey's General Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Stephens raised shares of Casey's General Stores to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Casey's General Stores from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $438.00 price objective on Casey's General Stores and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $430.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.01, for a total transaction of $109,252.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,443 shares in the company, valued at $1,067,615.43. This trade represents a 9.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mike Spanos acquired 256 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $390.54 per share, with a total value of $99,978.24. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,310,652.24. This trade represents a 8.26 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Casey's General Stores 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.