Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $730.00 to $830.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Casey’s General Stores traded as high as $775.69 and last traded at $772.36, with a volume of 54306 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $768.45.

CASY has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $719.00 price target for the company. Evercore set a $665.00 price objective on Casey’s General Stores and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $700.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Casey’s General Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $722.36.

Insider Activity at Casey’s General Stores

In other Casey’s General Stores news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.04, for a total transaction of $136,608.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 4,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,758,798.56. The trade was a 4.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mike Spanos bought 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $665.43 per share, for a total transaction of $199,629.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,993,769.57. This represents a 7.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Casey’s General Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in Casey’s General Stores in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 52.8% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 55 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 350.0% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 54 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $696.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $614.65. The company has a market capitalization of $28.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.55. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The business had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. Casey’s General Stores’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 18.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.09%.

Casey’s General Stores Company Profile

Casey’s General Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: CASY) is a U.S.-based convenience store chain that operates retail fuel stations and food-focused convenience outlets. Founded in 1959 in Boone, Iowa, the company has grown from a single neighborhood store into a regional operator known for combining traditional convenience retailing—fuel, packaged goods and tobacco—with a larger emphasis on fresh and prepared foods.

The company’s stores typically offer gasoline and diesel alongside a range of grocery essentials, grab-and-go items and made-to-order foodservice.