StockNews.com Upgrades Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) to Strong-Buy

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY – Get Rating) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $173.00 to $211.00 in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Thursday, March 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $285.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores to $270.00 in a research report on Monday, December 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.44.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Down 0.6 %

Casey’s General Stores stock opened at $209.15 on Tuesday. Casey’s General Stores has a 1-year low of $180.71 and a 1-year high of $249.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $221.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.73.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 8th. The company reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.53. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 18.02%. The business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.71 EPS. Casey’s General Stores’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the third quarter valued at about $287,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 7.6% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 114,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,224,000 after buying an additional 8,081 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 3.3% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 489,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,197,000 after buying an additional 15,562 shares in the last quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC bought a new position in Casey’s General Stores in the third quarter worth about $209,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 45.7% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 6,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,259,000 after buying an additional 2,135 shares in the last quarter. 84.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Casey’s General Stores

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Casey’s General Stores, Inc engages in the 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.