Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $380.11.

A number of analysts have recently commented on CASY shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $340.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $342.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Northcoast Research cut Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Benchmark upped their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $322.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

Casey’s General Stores stock opened at $382.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Casey’s General Stores has a 1 year low of $227.96 and a 1 year high of $389.43. The company has a market cap of $14.21 billion, a PE ratio of 28.51, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50-day moving average is $339.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $308.68.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 17.25%. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Casey’s General Stores will post 14.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Casey’s General Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 12.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CASY. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

About Casey’s General Stores

Casey's General Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates convenience stores under the Casey's and Casey's General Store names. Its stores offer pizza, donuts, breakfast items, and sandwiches; and tobacco and nicotine products. The company's stores provide soft drinks, energy, water, sports drinks, juices, coffee, and tea and dairy products; beer, wine, and spirits; snacks, candy, packaged bakery, and other food items; ice, ice cream, meals, and appetizers; health and beauty aids, automotive products, electronic accessories, housewares, and pet supplies; and ATM, lotto/lottery, and prepaid cards.