Brokerages Set Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Target Price at $424.00

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $424.00.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CASY. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $435.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Casey’s General Stores from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $337.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $403.00 to $428.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $410.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $427.13, for a total value of $192,208.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $959,761.11. This trade represents a 16.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CASY. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Casey’s General Stores by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $72,000. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

Casey’s General Stores stock opened at $403.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Casey’s General Stores has a twelve month low of $268.07 and a twelve month high of $439.68. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $408.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $384.69. The company has a market cap of $14.96 billion, a PE ratio of 28.09 and a beta of 0.80.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last released its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores will post 14.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.94%.

About Casey’s General Stores

Casey's General Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates convenience stores under the Casey's and Casey's General Store names. Its stores offer pizza, donuts, breakfast items, and sandwiches; and tobacco and nicotine products. The company's stores provide soft drinks, energy, water, sports drinks, juices, coffee, and tea and dairy products; beer, wine, and spirits; snacks, candy, packaged bakery, and other food items; ice, ice cream, meals, and appetizers; health and beauty aids, automotive products, electronic accessories, housewares, and pet supplies; and ATM, lotto/lottery, and prepaid cards.