CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Has $9.74 Million Stock Position in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,593 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,983 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.07% of Casey's General Stores worth $9,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CASY. Dean Investment Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 7,072 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,802,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Casey's General Stores by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 500 shares of the company's stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Casey's General Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $369,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Casey's General Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $20,274,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management boosted its position in Casey's General Stores by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 47,779 shares of the company's stock worth $18,931,000 after purchasing an additional 4,273 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on CASY shares. Royal Bank of Canada set a $438.00 price objective on Casey's General Stores and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Gordon Haskett raised Casey's General Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Casey's General Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Casey's General Stores currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $430.33.

Casey's General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of CASY traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $447.34. The stock had a trading volume of 419,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 286,009. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $313.67 and a fifty-two week 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 company has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a PE ratio of 31.17, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.74. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $422.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $412.77.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $2.33 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 the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. Casey's General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The firm's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Casey's General Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Casey's General Stores's payout ratio is currently 13.94%.

Insider Activity at Casey's General Stores

In other news, Director Mike Spanos bought 256 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $390.54 per share, with a total value of $99,978.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,310,652.24. The trade was a 8.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.01, for a total transaction of $109,252.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,067,615.43. The trade was a 9.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Casey's General Stores 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.