Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $451.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Gordon Haskett initiated coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $337.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $403.00 to $428.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Casey’s General Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $419.45.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ CASY opened at $425.27 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $405.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $382.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.64 and a beta of 0.80. Casey’s General Stores has a fifty-two week low of $266.58 and a fifty-two week high of $439.68.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 17.17% and a net margin of 3.57%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores will post 14.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.94%.

Insider Activity at Casey’s General Stores

In related news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 2,247 shares in the company, valued at $959,761.11. This represents a 16.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mike Spanos purchased 267 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $376.18 per share, with a total value of $100,440.06. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,594 shares in the company, valued at $975,810.92. This trade represents a 11.47 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Casey’s General Stores by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 12,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,872,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.