MQS Management LLC Invests $259,000 in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the fourth quarter worth $115,799,000. Congress Asset Management Co. MA bought a new stake in Casey’s General Stores during the 1st quarter worth $112,081,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 561.7% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 273,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,050,000 after purchasing an additional 231,887 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Casey’s General Stores by 113.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 291,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,936,000 after purchasing an additional 154,803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 11,242.6% during the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 107,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,284,000 after purchasing an additional 106,692 shares in the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Casey’s General Stores

In related news, insider Thomas P. Brennan, Jr. sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.24, for a total value of $1,140,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,438,890.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Thomas P. Brennan, Jr. sold 3,000 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.24, for a total value of $1,140,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,438,890.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mike Spanos purchased 267 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $376.18 per share, with a total value of $100,440.06. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $975,810.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CASY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $305.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $420.00 to $444.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $410.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $404.90.

Casey’s General Stores Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ CASY opened at $368.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $374.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $346.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $260.13 and a one year high of $401.07.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $4.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.54 by $0.29. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 14.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.89%.

Casey’s General Stores Profile

Casey's General Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates convenience stores under the Casey's and Casey's General Store names. Its stores offer pizza, donuts, breakfast items, and sandwiches; and tobacco and nicotine products. The company's stores provide soft drinks, energy, water, sports drinks, juices, coffee, and tea and dairy products; beer, wine, and spirits; snacks, candy, packaged bakery, and other food items; ice, ice cream, meals, and appetizers; health and beauty aids, automotive products, electronic accessories, housewares, and pet supplies; and ATM, lotto/lottery, and prepaid cards.