Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $705.60 and last traded at $704.1990, with a volume of 84036 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $689.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on CASY. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Casey’s General Stores in a report on Friday, January 9th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $698.20.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Up 3.4%

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’s 50-day moving average price is $656.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $589.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.65.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 9th. The company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 3.83%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be given 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 is Friday, May 1st. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is currently 13.09%.

Insider Activity at Casey’s General Stores

In other Casey’s General Stores news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 200 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.04, for a total value of $136,608.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 4,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,758,798.56. The trade was a 4.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mike Spanos purchased 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $665.43 per share, with a total value of $199,629.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,499 shares in the company, valued at $2,993,769.57. The trade was a 7.14% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Casey’s General Stores

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 179,938.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,659,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,469,747,000 after buying an additional 2,657,687 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Casey’s General Stores by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,068,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,671,000 after acquiring an additional 310,470 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 129.1% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 890,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $503,635,000 after acquiring an additional 502,104 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 791,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,403,000 after purchasing an additional 206,777 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 760,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,416,000 after purchasing an additional 52,250 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is 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.