Royal Bank Of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Stock Price

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $468.00 to $542.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Casey's General Stores from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Casey's General Stores from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Casey's General Stores from $460.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $490.00 price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $461.00.

Casey's General Stores Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:CASY traded up $10.02 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $522.32. 352,694 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 304,235. Casey's General Stores has a 52 week low of $350.52 and a 52 week high of $526.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $19.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.68 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $473.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $437.16.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.69. Casey's General Stores had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Casey's General Stores will post 13.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This is a positive change 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 presently 13.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Darren M. Rebelez sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 89,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,623,447.20. The trade was a 18.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mike Spanos purchased 200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $503.18 per share, with a total value of $100,636.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,791,320.80. This represents a 5.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,646 shares of company stock valued at $22,136,614 in the last ninety days. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CASY. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,802 shares of the company's stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $45,224,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $296,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,863 shares of the company's stock worth $6,285,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,426 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,735,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is 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.