Casey’s General Stores’ (CASY) Buy Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $410.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on CASY. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $322.00 to $361.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $340.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Northcoast Research upgraded Casey’s General Stores from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $410.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $342.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $401.22.

Casey’s General Stores Price Performance

CASY opened at $391.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $360.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $323.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $14.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.80. Casey’s General Stores has a 12-month low of $238.44 and a 12-month high of $401.07.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 11th. The company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.64. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 3.38%. The business had revenue of $3.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores will post 14.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. This is an increase from Casey’s General Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 10.1% in the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 469 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 12.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 353 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Islay Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.