Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Short Interest Up 21.7% in February

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,290,000 shares, a growth of 21.7% from the January 31st total of 1,060,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 262,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.9 days. Currently, 3.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CASY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of 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. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $403.00 to $428.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $424.00.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Up 0.9 %

CASY stock opened at $398.73 on Friday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $290.00 and a fifty-two week high of $445.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $410.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $399.03. The stock has a market cap of $14.80 billion, a PE ratio of 27.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.87.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last released its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.24 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casey’s General Stores

In other Casey’s General Stores news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $427.13, for a total transaction of $192,208.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,247 shares in the company, valued at $959,761.11. This represents a 16.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mike Spanos acquired 500 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $396.76 per share, for a total transaction of $198,380.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly 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 insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,799,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,505,319,000 after buying an additional 44,295 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,776,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $703,833,000 after buying an additional 31,131 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,046,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,305,000 after buying an additional 38,226 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 758,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,090,000 after buying an additional 119,350 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 678,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,952,000 after purchasing an additional 154,541 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

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.