Casey’s General Stores, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.50 (NASDAQ:CASY)

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 12th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share on Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st.

Casey’s General Stores has raised its dividend by an average of 1.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 24 consecutive years. Casey’s General Stores has a dividend payout ratio of 11.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Casey’s General Stores to earn $15.78 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.7%.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Up 6.2 %

NASDAQ CASY traded up $23.63 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $402.34. 594,477 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 269,539. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.87. Casey’s General Stores has a twelve month low of $290.00 and a twelve month high of $445.17. The business’s 50-day moving average is $409.64 and its 200-day moving average is $399.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.88.

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

Insider Activity

In other Casey’s General Stores news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $427.13, for a total value of $192,208.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,247 shares in the company, valued at $959,761.11. The trade was a 16.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mike Spanos bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $396.76 per share, for a total transaction of $198,380.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,228,765.72. This represents a 19.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CASY. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $450.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada set a $438.00 price objective on Casey’s General Stores and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com lowered Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $423.09.

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.