Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $422.15 and last traded at $422.15, with a volume of 4964 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $416.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Melius Research assumed coverage on Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $435.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $393.00 to $403.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $451.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $410.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $408.25.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Up 2.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $15.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.28 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $389.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $371.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $4.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.15 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 3.40%. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 14.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casey’s General Stores

In other news, CEO Darren M. Rebelez sold 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.54, for a total value of $5,056,290.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 73,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,655,284.52. This trade represents a 15.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mike Spanos purchased 267 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $376.18 per share, with a total value of $100,440.06. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,594 shares in the company, valued at $975,810.92. This trade represents a 11.47 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CASY. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Casey’s General Stores in the third quarter valued at about $959,880,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 3,846.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 172,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,750,000 after acquiring an additional 176,920 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 1,819.1% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 130,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,959,000 after acquiring an additional 123,502 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 281.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 164,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,863,000 after acquiring an additional 121,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 110.0% during the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 177,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,609,000 after purchasing an additional 92,813 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.