Brokerages Set Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Price Target at $520.55

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $529.10.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CASY shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $468.00 to $542.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $450.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $540.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Casey’s General Stores news, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 760 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.56, for a total value of $385,745.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,193,514.64. This trade represents a 2.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mike Spanos purchased 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $503.18 per share, for a total transaction of $100,636.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,791,320.80. This trade represents a 5.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 190.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,244,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $540,081,000 after purchasing an additional 816,110 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 54,448.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 543,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,054,000 after buying an additional 542,855 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $210,151,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 42.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,036,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $449,851,000 after purchasing an additional 306,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Third Point LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the 1st quarter valued at $130,212,000. Institutional investors own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Casey’s General Stores stock opened at $547.54 on Friday. Casey’s General Stores has a one year low of $363.00 and a one year high of $571.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $20.36 billion, a PE ratio of 35.14 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $522.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $482.83.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its earnings results on Monday, September 8th. The company reported $5.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.02 by $0.75. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 3.54%.The firm had revenue of $4.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.83 earnings per share. Casey’s General Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is 14.63%.

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.