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

Key Points

• 52-week high: Shares of Casey's General Stores hit a new 52-week high near $727.37 (last around $722.54) on Tuesday, reflecting strong intraday buying interest on ~200,438 shares traded.
• Mixed quarterly results: Casey's beat EPS expectations ($3.49 vs. $2.94) but missed revenue estimates ($3.92B vs. $4.08B), with analysts projecting roughly $13.94 in EPS for the fiscal year.
• Analyst and shareholder signals: The stock carries an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with a $700.09 average target (slightly below the current price); the company also announced a $0.57 quarterly dividend and insiders recently purchased shares.

Shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $727.37 and last traded at $722.5360, with a volume of 200438 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $704.80.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Casey's General Stores in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Casey's General Stores from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores from $530.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Casey's General Stores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $688.00 target price on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $700.09.

Casey's General Stores Stock Up 2.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $26.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $662.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $594.42.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.08 billion. Casey's General Stores had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 3.83%.Casey's General Stores's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Moats Maria Castanon acquired 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $554.66 per share, for a total transaction of $166,398.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,391.98. This trade represents a 59.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mike Spanos bought 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $665.43 per share, for a total transaction of $199,629.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 4,499 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,993,769.57. This trade represents a 7.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CASY. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Casey's General Stores during the third quarter worth $1,018,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 48,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,336,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Casey's General Stores by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 191,156 shares of the company's stock worth $108,065,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Casey's General Stores by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the company's stock worth $1,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dillon & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 25,737 shares of the company's stock worth $14,541,000 after purchasing an additional 5,161 shares in the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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