Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,060,000 shares, an increase of 48.8% from the January 15th total of 712,300 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 246,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 2,247 shares in the company, valued at $959,761.11. This trade represents 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 that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was 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 $1,228,765.72. This trade represents a 19.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Soros Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 1,825.6% in the third quarter. Soros Capital Management LLC now owns 27,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,382,000 after buying an additional 26,197 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 9.9% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,332 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Casey’s General Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $369,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in Casey’s General Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $23,294,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake 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 valued at $285,090,000 after purchasing an additional 119,350 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on CASY. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $451.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com lowered Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.00.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ CASY traded up $6.09 on Thursday, reaching $441.44. 168,368 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 258,110. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $409.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $394.60. Casey’s General Stores has a 12 month low of $280.05 and a 12 month high of $442.48. The company has a market cap of $16.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.83. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 17.17% and a net margin of 3.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.24 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is presently 13.94%.

Casey’s General Stores Company Profile

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.