Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Stock Price Down 4% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Casey’s shares fell 4% to about $669.61, on trading volume roughly 80% below the daily average. The stock remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 16 Buy ratings and five Holds, a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, and an average price target of $835.38.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $7.37 in EPS versus $6.78 expected and $5.68 billion in revenue, up 24.3% year over year. Casey’s also declared a $0.65 quarterly dividend, equal to a 0.4% yield.

Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) shares dropped 4% on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $663.73 and last traded at $669.6130. 104,339 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 518,468 shares. The stock had previously closed at $697.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CASY. Stephens set a $750.00 target price on shares of Casey's General Stores in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Casey's General Stores in a report on Monday, October 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $750.00 price objective on Casey's General Stores in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Casey's General Stores from $960.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $810.00 target price on Casey's General Stores in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $835.38.

Casey's General Stores Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $682.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $738.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.38 and a beta of 0.59.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $7.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.78 by $0.59. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.56 billion. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.77 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 21.61 EPS for the current year.

Casey's General Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, November 1st will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casey's General Stores

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Casey's General Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,759,895,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $281,872,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $281,011,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $246,982,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores in the second quarter valued at about $164,376,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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