Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on CASY. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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, 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. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $424.00.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ CASY opened at $398.73 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $410.44 and its 200 day moving average is $399.03. Casey’s General Stores has a 52 week low of $290.00 and a 52 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. The company has a market cap of $14.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.79, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.87.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.24 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Casey’s General Stores

In other Casey’s General Stores news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of Casey’s General Stores 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 transaction, the insider now owns 2,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $959,761.11. The trade was a 16.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mike Spanos bought 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $396.76 per share, for a total transaction of $198,380.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,097 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Casey’s General Stores

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CASY. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $628,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $778,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 902 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 3.1% during the third quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by 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.