Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $451.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $403.00 to $428.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Gordon Haskett started coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $424.00.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of CASY stock opened at $432.17 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $408.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $394.06. Casey’s General Stores has a 52 week low of $279.99 and a 52 week high of $439.68. The company has a market cap of $16.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.12, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.83.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by $0.56. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 17.17% and a net margin of 3.57%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.24 earnings per share. Casey’s General Stores’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 EPS for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.94%.

Insider Transactions at Casey’s General Stores

In other news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $427.13, for a total transaction of $192,208.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $959,761.11. This represents a 16.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mike Spanos acquired 500 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $396.76 per share, with a total value of $198,380.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,228,765.72. This represents a 19.25 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $236,500,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the 3rd quarter worth about $959,880,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 524,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,861,000 after purchasing an additional 174,586 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 1,819.1% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 130,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,959,000 after purchasing an additional 123,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 281.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 164,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,863,000 after purchasing an additional 121,488 shares in the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Casey’s General Stores

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.