Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Upgraded at Gordon Haskett

Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports.

CASY has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $451.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Casey’s General Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $424.00.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CASY opened at $432.17 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $410.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $395.29. Casey’s General Stores has a fifty-two week low of $284.57 and a fifty-two week high of $445.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given 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 is Monday, February 3rd. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 13.94%.

Insider Activity at Casey’s General Stores

In other Casey’s General Stores news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $427.13, for a total transaction of $192,208.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $959,761.11. This trade represents a 16.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mike Spanos purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought 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 $1,228,765.72. The trade was a 19.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores in the fourth quarter worth $24,985,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 241.1% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 11,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,731,000 after buying an additional 8,440 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 382 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 332,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,748,000 after acquiring an additional 58,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 51.0% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

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.