Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Short Interest Update

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 945,663 shares, an increase of 37.3% from the February 26th total of 688,930 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 545,084 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $719.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $530.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Northcoast Research downgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $700.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 200 shares of Casey’s General Stores 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 transaction, the insider owned 4,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,758,798.56. The trade was a 4.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Moats Maria Castanon bought 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $554.66 per share, for a total transaction of $166,398.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 803 shares in the company, valued at $445,391.98. This represents a 59.64% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Casey’s General Stores

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 179,938.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,659,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,469,747,000 after purchasing an additional 2,657,687 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,068,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,671,000 after purchasing an additional 310,470 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 129.1% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 890,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $503,635,000 after purchasing an additional 502,104 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 35.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 791,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,403,000 after purchasing an additional 206,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 760,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,416,000 after purchasing an additional 52,250 shares during the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Down 1.3%

CASY opened at $704.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $662.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $594.42. Casey’s General Stores has a 52 week low of $397.80 and a 52 week high of $721.50. The company has a market capitalization of $26.05 billion, a PE ratio of 40.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.09%.

Casey’s General Stores Company Profile

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.