Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Upgraded by Gordon Haskett to “Buy” Rating

Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

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

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of CASY opened at $442.54 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $409.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $394.93. Casey’s General Stores has a one year low of $280.05 and a one year high of $443.22. 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 has a market cap of $16.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid 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 yield of 0.45%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $427.13, for a total transaction of $192,208.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mike Spanos bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $396.76 per share, for a total transaction of $198,380.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,228,765.72. The trade was 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 owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Casey’s General Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Casey’s General Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 941.7% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 22.5% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.