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

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $684.61 and last traded at $678.08, with a volume of 20572 shares. The stock had previously closed at $671.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CASY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore set a $665.00 price target on Casey’s General Stores and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $688.00 price objective on Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research raised Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $662.00 target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $621.00.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

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 $25.07 billion, a PE ratio of 41.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $611.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $564.19.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted 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 net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, February 1st were issued 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 of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Moats Maria Castanon acquired 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $554.66 per share, with a total value of $166,398.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,391.98. This trade represents a 59.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CASY. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 179,938.2% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,659,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,469,747,000 after acquiring an additional 2,657,687 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 890,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $503,635,000 after purchasing an additional 502,104 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Casey’s General Stores in the 4th quarter worth $265,163,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Casey’s General Stores by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,068,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,671,000 after purchasing an additional 310,470 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 175.3% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 471,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,622,000 after purchasing an additional 300,249 shares during the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.