Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Plans $0.50 Quarterly Dividend

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 12th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share on Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st.

Casey’s General Stores has increased its dividend by an average of 1.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 24 years. Casey’s General Stores has a dividend payout ratio of 11.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Casey’s General Stores to earn $15.78 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.7%.

Casey’s General Stores Price Performance

CASY opened at $402.07 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 company has a market capitalization of $14.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $409.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $399.63. Casey’s General Stores has a 1 year low of $290.00 and a 1 year high of $445.17.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.33 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CASY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. 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. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $450.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $438.00 price objective on Casey’s General Stores and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $423.09.

Insider Activity

In other Casey’s General Stores news, Director Mike Spanos bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $1,228,765.72. The trade was a 19.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.56% 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.