Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $453.00.

CASY has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Casey's General Stores from $460.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Casey's General Stores from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Casey's General Stores from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $438.00 price target on shares of Casey's General Stores and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Casey's General Stores from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 8,478 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $509.21, for a total value of $4,317,082.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,623,404.34. This trade represents a 24.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Thomas P. Brennan, Jr. sold 6,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.03, for a total transaction of $3,339,798.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,062,663. This trade represents a 75.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,646 shares of company stock valued at $22,136,614 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casey's General Stores

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Natixis boosted its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 8,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499 shares during the period. Scholtz & Company LLC bought a new stake in Casey's General Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,375,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its position in Casey's General Stores by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 53,330 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,131,000 after purchasing an additional 4,458 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Casey's General Stores by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 290,420 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,089,000 after purchasing an additional 38,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP bought a new stake in Casey's General Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,079,000. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Casey's General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of CASY stock opened at $526.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $472.60 and a 200-day moving average of $436.64. The company has a market cap of $19.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.94 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Casey's General Stores has a one year low of $350.52 and a one year high of $526.33.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, June 9th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.69. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.95 billion. Casey's General Stores had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Casey's General Stores will post 13.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This is a positive change from Casey's General Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.66%.

About Casey's General Stores

Casey's General Stores, Inc engages in the provision of management and operation of convenience stores and gasoline stations. It provides self-service gasoline, a wide selection of grocery items, and an array of freshly prepared food items. The firm offers food, beverages, tobacco products, health and beauty aids, automotive products, and other non-food items.

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