Brokerages Set Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) PT at $621.36

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $624.0909.

A number of research firms have recently commented on CASY. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Monday, December 29th. Northcoast Research cut shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $730.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Friday, January 9th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of CASY opened at $615.29 on Friday. Casey’s General Stores has a fifty-two week low of $372.08 and a fifty-two week high of $647.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $577.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $547.45. The firm has a market cap of $22.81 billion, a PE ratio of 37.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $5.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.92 by $0.61. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 3.58%.The business had revenue of $4.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.85 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, February 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is currently 14.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casey’s General Stores

In related news, Director Moats Maria Castanon bought 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $554.66 per share, with a total value of $166,398.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,391.98. This represents a 59.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $695,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $392,000. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 875 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Casey’s General Stores in the 4th quarter worth $2,612,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 15,024.5% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 193,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,750,000 after buying an additional 191,863 shares in the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Casey’s General Stores

Casey’s General Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: CASY) is a U.S.-based convenience store chain that operates retail fuel stations and food-focused convenience outlets. Founded in 1959 in Boone, Iowa, the company has grown from a single neighborhood store into a regional operator known for combining traditional convenience retailing—fuel, packaged goods and tobacco—with a larger emphasis on fresh and prepared foods.

The company’s stores typically offer gasoline and diesel alongside a range of grocery essentials, grab-and-go items and made-to-order foodservice.