Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Evercore set a $665.00 target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Friday, January 9th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $530.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $725.00 to $745.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $698.20.

Casey’s General Stores Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:CASY opened at $659.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.38 billion, a PE ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $653.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $585.79. Casey’s General Stores has a 12-month low of $391.55 and a 12-month high of $696.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 3.83%.Casey’s General Stores’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Casey’s General Stores

In other Casey’s General Stores news, Director Mike Spanos bought 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $665.43 per share, with a total value of $199,629.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,993,769.57. The trade was a 7.14% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.04, for a total transaction of $136,608.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,758,798.56. This trade represents a 4.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CASY. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Casey’s General Stores during the 3rd quarter worth $1,018,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 4.4% in the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 48,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,336,000 after acquiring an additional 2,026 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 1.0% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 191,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,065,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 0.3% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 708,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,727,000 after acquiring an additional 2,467 shares during the period. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 82.3% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,456,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162 shares during the period. 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.