Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Now Covered by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $719.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Evercore set a $665.00 price objective on Casey’s General Stores and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $680.00 target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Monday, December 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Casey’s General Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $700.09.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:CASY opened at $711.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $26.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $659.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $591.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Casey’s General Stores has a 1-year low of $397.80 and a 1-year high of $721.50.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. Casey’s General Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 EPS for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors 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 of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.09%.

Insider Activity at Casey’s General Stores

In other Casey’s General Stores news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 200 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.04, for a total value of $136,608.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 4,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,758,798.56. The trade was a 4.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mike Spanos bought 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $665.43 per share, for a total transaction of $199,629.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,499 shares in the company, valued at $2,993,769.57. This trade represents a 7.14% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 5,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,839,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Steph & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 18 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.