JPMorgan Chase & Co. Begins Coverage on Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY)

Investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm set a “neutral” rating and a $719.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 0.67% from the company’s current price.

CASY has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $700.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $600.00 to $706.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $530.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $725.00 to $745.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $700.09.

Casey’s General Stores Price Performance

Casey’s General Stores stock opened at $714.23 on Thursday. Casey’s General Stores has a one year low of $397.80 and a one year high of $721.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $658.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $590.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.00, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.65.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.55. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.33 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mike Spanos bought 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $665.43 per share, with a total value of $199,629.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 4,499 shares in the company, valued at $2,993,769.57. This represents a 7.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.04, for a total transaction of $136,608.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,758,798.56. The trade was a 4.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new stake in Casey’s General Stores in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 52.8% during the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 55 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 350.0% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 54 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

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.