Bank of America Initiates Coverage on Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY)

Investment analysts at Bank of America began coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) in a report released on Friday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating on the stock.

CASY has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $595.90.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CASY traded up $8.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $594.66. 28,622 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 218,273. The company has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.65 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $552.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $536.79. Casey’s General Stores has a 52 week low of $372.08 and a 52 week high of $593.30. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $5.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.92 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $4.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.51 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 3.58%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casey’s General Stores

In other news, Director Moats Maria Castanon acquired 300 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was acquired 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 $445,391.98. This represents a 59.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Casey’s General Stores

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CASY. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $812,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its position in Casey’s General Stores by 3.4% in the first quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 7.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 115,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,207,000 after purchasing an additional 7,761 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 129.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,994,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

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.