Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $666.28 and last traded at $658.96, with a volume of 290542 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $660.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on CASY. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Northcoast Research cut shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $585.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $688.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Casey’s General Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $613.50.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $24.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $589.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $554.33.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $5.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.92 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $4.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.51 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 3.58%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.85 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, February 1st will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.02%.

Insider Transactions at Casey’s General Stores

In other news, Director Moats Maria Castanon bought 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $554.66 per share, with a total value of $166,398.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,391.98. This trade represents a 59.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CASY. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC raised its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 2.1% during the third quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 52.8% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 55 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Company Profile

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.