Two Sigma Securities LLC Buys 525 Shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Two Sigma Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 26.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,525 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $1,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 8,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after acquiring an additional 3,065 shares during the period. Scholtz & Company LLC acquired a new position in Casey’s General Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,375,000. JLB & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. now owns 43,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,049,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 53,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,131,000 after buying an additional 4,458 shares during the period. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council raised its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 10,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,988,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mike Spanos bought 256 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $390.54 per share, with a total value of $99,978.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,356 shares in the company, valued at $1,310,652.24. The trade was a 8.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.01, for a total value of $109,252.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,067,615.43. This trade represents a 9.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on CASY. Stephens raised shares of Casey’s General Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $438.00 target price on Casey’s General Stores and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $430.33.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of CASY stock opened at $447.29 on Friday. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $313.67 and a 12-month high of $468.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $422.88 and a 200-day moving average of $412.77. The company has a market capitalization of $16.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.74.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is 13.94%.

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.