Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Upgraded to Buy at Northcoast Research

Key Points

• Northcoast Research upgraded Casey's General Stores to "buy" from neutral and set a $950 price target, implying about 15.9% upside from the stock’s current level.
• The company’s latest quarterly results were strong, with EPS of $4.37 beating estimates of $3.31 and revenue of $4.57 billion topping expectations; revenue also rose 14.5% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive overall, with 14 Buy ratings and 6 Hold ratings and a consensus price target of $940, even as some insiders have recently sold shares.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Northcoast Research from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Monday. The brokerage presently has a $950.00 price target on the stock. Northcoast Research's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 15.88% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Casey's General Stores from $950.00 to $970.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Casey's General Stores from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores from $695.00 to $795.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Capital One Financial started coverage on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $896.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Casey's General Stores to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $940.00.

Casey's General Stores Price Performance

Casey's General Stores stock opened at $819.83 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $823.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $723.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $30.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.62. Casey's General Stores has a twelve month low of $490.00 and a twelve month high of $927.85.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $4.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.31 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $4.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.33 billion. Casey's General Stores had a return on equity of 18.73% and a net margin of 4.07%.The business's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Casey's General Stores will post 21.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Casey's General Stores

In other news, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 5,700 shares of Casey's General Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $838.16, for a total transaction of $4,777,512.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,874,074.32. The trade was a 16.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chad Michael Frazell sold 3,013 shares of Casey's General Stores stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $787.49, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 23.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 30,243 shares of company stock worth $24,421,877 in the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casey's General Stores

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its stake in Casey's General Stores by 52.8% during the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 55 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 350.0% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 54 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores during the first quarter worth about $33,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Casey's General Stores by 47.6% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 62 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Casey's General Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other 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.

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