Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Shares Bought by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,183 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 664 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $3,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CASY. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 3.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 17.7% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 1.0% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 4,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,830,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 9.9% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank increased its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 1.6% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 12,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,669,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Casey’s General Stores

In related news, Director Mike Spanos bought 256 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $390.54 per share, with a total value of $99,978.24. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,356 shares in the company, valued at $1,310,652.24. This represents a 8.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Casey’s General Stores Price Performance

Shares of CASY opened at $404.00 on Friday. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $306.45 and a twelve month high of $445.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $410.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $400.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.00 billion, a PE ratio of 28.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.87. 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 (NASDAQ:CASY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 17.17% and a net margin of 3.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.33 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is currently 13.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on CASY. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com cut Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $450.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $438.00 price target on Casey’s General Stores and gave the company 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 and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Casey’s General Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $423.09.

About Casey’s General Stores

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.