Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $345.00 to $355.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Casey’s General Stores traded as high as $321.53 and last traded at $321.42, with a volume of 8811 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $319.38.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $291.00 to $296.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Casey’s General Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $309.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mike Spanos bought 725 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $275.43 per share, for a total transaction of $199,686.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,791 shares in the company, valued at $493,295.13. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 3,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. LexAurum Advisors LLC boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 469 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 46.6% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $293.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $281.51. The company has a market cap of $11.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.33, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 12th. The company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.51 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 16.70%. Casey’s General Stores’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.36 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 12.88 EPS for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is presently 13.67%.

About Casey’s General Stores

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.