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

Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $526.82 and last traded at $512.30, with a volume of 413978 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $526.16.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on CASY. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Casey's General Stores from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Casey's General Stores from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Casey's General Stores from $460.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Casey's General Stores from $468.00 to $542.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Casey's General Stores from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $461.00.

Casey's General Stores Trading Up 2.0%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $473.58 and a 200-day moving average of $437.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $19.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.68 and a beta of 0.69.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, June 9th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.69. Casey's General Stores had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 3.43%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. Casey's General Stores's quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This is a boost from Casey's General Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Casey's General Stores news, CEO Darren M. Rebelez sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.83, for a total transaction of $10,156,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 89,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,623,447.20. This trade represents a 18.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Thomas P. Brennan, Jr. sold 6,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.03, for a total value of $3,339,798.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 worth $22,136,614 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casey's General Stores

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Leibman Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Casey's General Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,316,000. Westbourne Investments Inc. bought a new position in Casey's General Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at $615,000. Orser Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Casey's General Stores by 95.5% during the 2nd quarter. Orser Capital Management LLC now owns 3,989 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,035,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma bought a new position in Casey's General Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at $396,000. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores during the 2nd quarter worth $207,000. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Casey's General Stores Company Profile

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.