Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $733.49, but opened at $627.47. Casey’s General Stores shares last traded at $613.5210, with a volume of 546,055 shares trading hands.

Trending Headlines about Casey’s General Stores

Here are the key news stories impacting Casey’s General Stores this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Casey’s reported fiscal first-quarter EPS of $7.37, above the $6.78 analyst consensus, while revenue of approximately $5.68 billion also exceeded estimates. EPS rose 27.7% year over year, net income increased 27.1% to $273.7 million, and EBITDA grew 17.1%. Casey’s Announces First Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Stephens reaffirmed its “overweight” rating and assigned a $975 price target, implying substantial upside from the recent trading level. Casey’s analyst coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and growth-stock screens continue to point to Casey’s long-term expansion and earnings-growth potential, supporting the bullish investment case. Why Casey’s is a long-term growth stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Casey’s declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, payable November 13 to shareholders of record November 1. The dividend provides income but represents a modest yield of roughly 0.4%.
• Negative Sentiment: Inside same-store sales increased 3.2%, but growth slowed from the prior year. Investors appear concerned that the underlying sales momentum did not fully justify Casey’s premium valuation and high earnings expectations. Casey’s same-store sales growth declines
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market pressure from rising oil prices and escalating U.S.-Iran tensions may also weigh on sentiment toward fuel retailers by increasing operating and consumer-cost concerns. Stock futures slide as oil prices rally

Analyst Ratings Changes

CASY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $975.00 to $833.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $950.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $927.00 price objective on Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Friday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $1,032.00 to $995.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $928.33.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $825.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $786.82. The stock has a market cap of $23.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.59.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $7.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.78 by $0.59. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 4.07% and a return on equity of 18.73%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 21.13 EPS for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Sunday, November 1st will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.57%.

Insider Activity

In other Casey’s General Stores news, insider Chad Frazell sold 3,013 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $787.49, for a total value of $2,372,707.37. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,735,514.27. This trade represents a 23.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO P Jr sold 5,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $838.16, for a total value of $4,777,512.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,874,074.32. This trade represents a 16.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,243 shares of company stock worth $24,421,877. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 106,650.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 46,043,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,595,131,000 after acquiring an additional 46,000,642 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the second quarter worth $2,759,895,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,657,687 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $590,671,000 after purchasing an additional 310,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Casey’s General Stores by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 760,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,416,000 after purchasing an additional 52,250 shares in the last quarter. 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.