Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) saw a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 595,100 shares, an increase of 6.3% from the August 15th total of 559,900 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 292,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Casey’s General Stores Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CASY traded down $5.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $375.31. 227,331 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 281,626. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $374.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $346.15. Casey’s General Stores has a 12 month low of $260.13 and a 12 month high of $401.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.80.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $4.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.29. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores will post 14.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 14.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CASY shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $393.00 to $403.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $420.00 to $444.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Northcoast Research upgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $410.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $298.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Casey’s General Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.20.

Insider Activity at Casey’s General Stores

In other Casey’s General Stores news, CEO Darren M. Rebelez sold 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.54, for a total transaction of $5,056,290.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 73,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,655,284.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Thomas P. Brennan, Jr. sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.24, for a total transaction of $1,140,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,438,890.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Darren M. Rebelez sold 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.54, for a total transaction of $5,056,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,838 shares in the company, valued at $27,655,284.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Casey’s General Stores

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Casey’s General Stores in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Casey’s General Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Casey’s General Stores Company Profile

Casey's General Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates convenience stores under the Casey's and Casey's General Store names. Its stores offer pizza, donuts, breakfast items, and sandwiches; and tobacco and nicotine products. The company's stores provide soft drinks, energy, water, sports drinks, juices, coffee, and tea and dairy products; beer, wine, and spirits; snacks, candy, packaged bakery, and other food items; ice, ice cream, meals, and appetizers; health and beauty aids, automotive products, electronic accessories, housewares, and pet supplies; and ATM, lotto/lottery, and prepaid cards.