Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Lowers Stake in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp reduced its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,117 shares of the company’s stock after selling 360 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $12,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $909,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 265,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,057,000 after acquiring an additional 6,867 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $666,000. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $495,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 105.3% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 17,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,689,000 after acquiring an additional 8,753 shares during the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CASY opened at $366.97 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $373.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $343.44. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $238.44 and a fifty-two week high of $401.07.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $4.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.45 EPS for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on CASY. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $342.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $410.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $298.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $410.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.20.

Casey’s General Stores Company 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.