Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on CASY. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Stephens upped their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $662.00 price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Casey’s General Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.50.

Casey’s General Stores Trading Up 0.7%

CASY opened at $671.75 on Friday. Casey’s General Stores has a fifty-two week low of $372.08 and a fifty-two week high of $678.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.31, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $611.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $564.19.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last released 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. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The firm had revenue of $4.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Casey’s General Stores

In related news, Director Moats Maria Castanon purchased 300 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $554.66 per share, for a total transaction of $166,398.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $445,391.98. This trade represents a 59.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Casey’s General Stores

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $700,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 5,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,839,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings 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 worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Casey’s General Stores by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is currently 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.