Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $430.33.

CASY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada set a $438.00 price target on Casey’s General Stores and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. 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. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Stephens raised Casey’s General Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on Casey’s General Stores in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mike Spanos purchased 256 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $390.54 per share, with a total value of $99,978.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,356 shares in the company, valued at $1,310,652.24. The trade was a 8.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,067,615.43. This trade represents a 9.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CASY. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $236,500,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 54,448.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 543,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,054,000 after acquiring an additional 542,855 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Casey’s General Stores during the 4th quarter worth $175,607,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 160.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 428,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,666,000 after purchasing an additional 263,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 51.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 515,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,792,000 after purchasing an additional 175,372 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Casey’s General Stores Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of CASY stock opened at $462.59 on Thursday. Casey’s General Stores has a fifty-two week low of $313.67 and a fifty-two week high of $468.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $425.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $414.76. The stock has a market cap of $17.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.57. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The firm had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 EPS for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.94%.

About Casey’s General Stores

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.