Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $424.00.

Several brokerages have issued reports on CASY. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $403.00 to $428.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Gordon Haskett began coverage on Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $451.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $300.00 to $337.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $427.13, for a total transaction of $192,208.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $959,761.11. This represents a 16.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Casey’s General Stores

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $959,880,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 3,846.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 172,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,750,000 after purchasing an additional 176,920 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 49.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 524,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,861,000 after purchasing an additional 174,586 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 1,819.1% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 130,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,959,000 after purchasing an additional 123,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 281.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 164,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,863,000 after purchasing an additional 121,488 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of CASY opened at $403.67 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.13 and a beta of 0.80. Casey’s General Stores has a 52-week low of $268.07 and a 52-week high of $439.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $408.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $386.14.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.56. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores will post 14.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

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

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.