Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,968 shares of the company’s stock after selling 144 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $1,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CASY. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 10.0% in the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 4.9% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA acquired a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the third quarter valued at $253,000. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 237.4% during the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $925,000 after acquiring an additional 1,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 7.7% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 129,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,647,000 after acquiring an additional 9,302 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on CASY shares. StockNews.com lowered Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Gordon Haskett started coverage on Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $403.00 to $428.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Casey’s General Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.00.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ CASY opened at $432.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.83. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $279.99 and a 1-year high of $439.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $408.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $394.06.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 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 down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.24 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mike Spanos bought 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $396.76 per share, for a total transaction of $198,380.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,097 shares in the company, valued at $1,228,765.72. This represents a 19.25 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $427.13, for a total value of $192,208.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $959,761.11. The trade was a 16.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

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.