Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

CASY has been the topic of a number of other research reports. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Evercore set a $665.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $688.00 target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Casey’s General Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $621.00.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CASY opened at $681.48 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.26 billion, a PE ratio of 41.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.68. Casey’s General Stores has a twelve month low of $372.08 and a twelve month high of $684.61. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $613.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $565.33.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $5.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.92 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $4.51 billion during 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%.Casey’s General Stores’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.85 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related 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 acquired at an average cost of $554.66 per share, with a total value of $166,398.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 803 shares in the company, valued at $445,391.98. The trade was a 59.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CASY. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the 3rd quarter worth $1,018,000. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp raised its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 157.2% during the second quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 8,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,366,000 after buying an additional 5,230 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $361,727,000 after buying an additional 2,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 4.4% during the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 48,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,336,000 after buying an additional 2,026 shares during 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.