Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Lowered to “Neutral” Rating by Northcoast Research

Northcoast Research lowered shares of Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $610.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Stephens increased their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $570.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $585.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $614.91.

Casey’s General Stores Price Performance

Shares of CASY opened at $625.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $569.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $544.02. The stock has a market cap of $23.18 billion, a PE ratio of 38.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.67. Casey’s General Stores has a 1-year low of $372.08 and a 1-year high of $647.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $5.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.92 by $0.61. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The firm had revenue of $4.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.85 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 EPS for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, February 1st will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.02%.

Insider Activity at Casey’s General Stores

In other news, Director Moats Maria Castanon bought 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $554.66 per share, for a total transaction of $166,398.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,391.98. This represents a 59.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CASY. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 8,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,609,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 156.6% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 929 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 169.9% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,839,000 after buying an additional 2,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trueblood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

About Casey’s General Stores

Casey’s General Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: CASY) is a U.S.-based convenience store chain that operates retail fuel stations and food-focused convenience outlets. Founded in 1959 in Boone, Iowa, the company has grown from a single neighborhood store into a regional operator known for combining traditional convenience retailing—fuel, packaged goods and tobacco—with a larger emphasis on fresh and prepared foods.

The company’s stores typically offer gasoline and diesel alongside a range of grocery essentials, grab-and-go items and made-to-order foodservice.