Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $440.06 and last traded at $436.48, with a volume of 20037 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $435.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CASY. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $403.00 to $428.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Gordon Haskett raised Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $451.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.00.

Casey’s General Stores Trading Down 2.3 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $410.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $395.24. The stock has a market cap of $16.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.12, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.56. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.24 earnings per share. Casey’s General Stores’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is currently 13.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casey’s General Stores

In other news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $427.13, for a total transaction of $192,208.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,247 shares in the company, valued at $959,761.11. This represents a 16.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mike Spanos purchased 500 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $396.76 per share, with a total value of $198,380.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,228,765.72. This represents a 19.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Casey’s General Stores

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,799,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,505,319,000 after purchasing an additional 44,295 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,776,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,833,000 after buying an additional 31,131 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Casey’s General Stores by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,046,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,305,000 after buying an additional 38,226 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 758,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,090,000 after acquiring an additional 119,350 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 678,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,952,000 after acquiring an additional 154,541 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Casey’s General Stores

Casey’s General Stores, Inc engages in the provision of management and operation of convenience stores and gasoline stations. It provides self-service gasoline, a wide selection of grocery items, and an array of freshly prepared food items. The firm offers food, beverages, tobacco products, health and beauty aids, automotive products, and other non-food items.