Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Trading Down 5.1% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Casey’s shares fell 5.1% to about $765.83 in midday trading, with volume roughly half its average. UBS lowered its price target to $925 and maintained a neutral rating, while analysts overall continue to give the stock a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $942.87 average target.
• The company recently reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.37 versus the $3.31 consensus and revenue of $4.57 billion, up 14.5% year over year.
• Casey’s increased its quarterly dividend from $0.57 to $0.65 per share, although the yield remains low at 0.3%. Insiders have sold approximately $24.4 million of stock over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 85.63% of the company.

Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) was down 5.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $769.43 and last traded at $765.8320. 245,268 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 493,496 shares. The stock had previously closed at $807.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores from $945.00 to $925.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Capital One Financial started coverage on Casey's General Stores in a report on Monday, June 22nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $896.00 price target for the company. William Blair began coverage on Casey's General Stores in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Zacks Research cut Casey's General Stores from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $990.00 target price on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Casey's General Stores presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $942.87.

Casey's General Stores Trading Down 5.1%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $835.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $780.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $28.34 billion, a PE ratio of 40.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.61.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $4.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.63 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 21.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Casey's General Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 1st were paid a $0.65 dividend. This is an increase from Casey's General Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Casey's General Stores's payout ratio is 13.57%.

Insider Activity at Casey's General Stores

In other news, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 5,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $838.16, for a total value 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 $24,874,074.32. This represents a 16.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $800.00, for a total value of $1,600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,334,400. This represents a 23.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 30,243 shares of company stock worth $24,421,877 in the last 90 days. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Casey's General Stores by 242.1% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 118,299 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,023,000 after purchasing an additional 83,719 shares during the period. Wellington Grp LLC grew its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Grp LLC now owns 1,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,583,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise purchased a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $79,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 106,650.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 46,043,774 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,595,131,000 after buying an additional 46,000,642 shares during the period. 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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