Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on CASY. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $403.00 to $428.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets reissued 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, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $424.00.

Casey’s General Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CASY opened at $432.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $16.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $410.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $395.69. Casey’s General Stores has a fifty-two week low of $284.57 and a fifty-two week high of $445.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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

Insider Transactions at Casey’s General Stores

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Casey’s General Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 941.7% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Casey’s General Stores in the 3rd quarter worth about $76,000. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.