Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $422.15 and last traded at $422.15, with a volume of 4964 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $416.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CASY has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $451.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $337.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Gordon Haskett started coverage on Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $410.00 price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $408.25.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $390.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $372.81. The company has a market cap of $15.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14 and a beta of 0.79.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $4.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.15 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 14.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is 14.56%.

Insider Transactions at Casey’s General Stores

In other news, Director Mike Spanos acquired 267 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $376.18 per share, with a total value of $100,440.06. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $975,810.92. This represents a 11.47 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Darren M. Rebelez sold 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.54, for a total transaction of $5,056,290.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 73,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,655,284.52. The trade was a 15.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 1.3% in 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 in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 10.1% in the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 22.5% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Casey’s General Stores by 3.1% in the third quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 991 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 3.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Casey’s General Stores

Casey's General Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates convenience stores under the Casey's and Casey's General Store names. Its stores offer pizza, donuts, breakfast items, and sandwiches; and tobacco and nicotine products. The company's stores provide soft drinks, energy, water, sports drinks, juices, coffee, and tea and dairy products; beer, wine, and spirits; snacks, candy, packaged bakery, and other food items; ice, ice cream, meals, and appetizers; health and beauty aids, automotive products, electronic accessories, housewares, and pet supplies; and ATM, lotto/lottery, and prepaid cards.