Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $748.00 and last traded at $749.7730, with a volume of 151 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $743.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on CASY shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Friday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $688.00 target price on Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $662.00 to $713.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Evercore set a $665.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $700.09.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $27.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $671.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $599.54. 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 (NASDAQ:CASY) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be issued a $0.57 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 13.09%.

Insider Activity at Casey’s General Stores

In other news, Director Mike Spanos bought 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,499 shares in the company, valued at $2,993,769.57. The trade was a 7.14% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 4,039 shares in the company, valued at $2,758,798.56. This represents a 4.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 5,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,839,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. increased its stake 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 worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC increased its stake 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 worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.