Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Short Interest Update

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 628,700 shares, an increase of 5.6% from the August 31st total of 595,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 253,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Activity at Casey’s General Stores

In other news, CEO Darren M. Rebelez sold 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.54, for a total transaction of $5,056,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,655,284.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Casey’s General Stores news, CEO Darren M. Rebelez sold 13,500 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.54, for a total transaction of $5,056,290.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,655,284.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mike Spanos bought 267 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $376.18 per share, for a total transaction of $100,440.06. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,594 shares in the company, valued at $975,810.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Congress Asset Management Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the 1st quarter valued at about $112,081,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 195.8% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $958,000 after acquiring an additional 2,309 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $903,000. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,498,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in Casey’s General Stores in the first quarter worth $794,000. 85.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Up 0.6 %

CASY stock traded up $2.40 during trading on Monday, hitting $375.71. 211,148 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 279,700. The stock has a market cap of $13.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Casey’s General Stores has a 1 year low of $260.13 and a 1 year high of $401.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $373.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $351.20.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $4.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.15 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Casey’s General Stores will post 14.01 EPS for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CASY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Melius Research initiated coverage on Casey’s General Stores in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $435.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $420.00 to $444.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $305.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $407.64.

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.