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

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $424.00.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CASY. Melius Research initiated coverage on Casey’s General Stores in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $435.00 price objective on the stock. 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 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target 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.

Casey’s General Stores Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Casey’s General Stores stock opened at $391.51 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $14.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.82. Casey’s General Stores has a 1 year low of $268.07 and a 1 year high of $439.68. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $408.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $389.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.56. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.24 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 EPS for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is 13.94%.

Insider Transactions at Casey’s General Stores

In other news, Director Mike Spanos acquired 500 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $396.76 per share, with a total value of $198,380.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,097 shares in the company, valued at $1,228,765.72. This represents a 19.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 2,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $959,761.11. This trade represents a 16.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Soros Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 1,825.6% during the 3rd quarter. Soros Capital Management LLC now owns 27,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,382,000 after purchasing an additional 26,197 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 9.9% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,532,000 after buying an additional 1,332 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Casey’s General Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $23,294,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 758,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,090,000 after acquiring an additional 119,350 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,046,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,305,000 after acquiring an additional 38,226 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

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.