Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Trading Down 8% – What’s Next?

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) shares traded down 8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $768.43 and last traded at $764.9370. 177,158 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 530,240 shares. The stock had previously closed at $831.89.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CASY shares. Zacks Research lowered Casey’s General Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $990.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $805.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Stephens set a $975.00 price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $695.00 to $795.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $939.29.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $817.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $703.87. The firm has a market cap of $29.04 billion, a PE ratio of 40.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.61.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $4.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.33 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 18.73% and a net margin of 4.07%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.63 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 21.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 1st will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Casey’s General Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CASY. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 179,938.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,659,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,469,747,000 after acquiring an additional 2,657,687 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $265,163,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,068,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,671,000 after purchasing an additional 310,470 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 175.3% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 471,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,622,000 after buying an additional 300,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 115.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 423,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,164,000 after buying an additional 227,403 shares in the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.