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

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $450.00 to $460.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Casey’s General Stores traded as high as $446.60 and last traded at $441.89, with a volume of 65958 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $440.63.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on CASY. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $438.00 target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Casey’s General Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $424.00.

Insider Activity at Casey’s General Stores

In other news, Director Mike Spanos purchased 256 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $390.54 per share, for a total transaction of $99,978.24. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,310,652.24. This trade represents a 8.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,799,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,505,319,000 after purchasing an additional 44,295 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,776,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $703,833,000 after buying an additional 31,131 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 18.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 758,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,090,000 after acquiring an additional 119,350 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Casey’s General Stores by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 678,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,952,000 after buying an additional 154,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 655,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,335,000 after acquiring an additional 8,428 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $414.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $403.98. The firm has a market cap of $16.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is 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.