Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at KeyCorp

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) was upgraded by equities research analysts at KeyCorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CASY. StockNews.com cut Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Stephens upgraded Casey’s General Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $438.00 target price on Casey’s General Stores and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $430.33.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of CASY opened at $457.25 on Thursday. Casey’s General Stores has a 1 year low of $306.60 and a 1 year high of $459.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $16.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $418.43 and a 200-day moving average of $407.75.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.57. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The company had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.33 EPS. Casey’s General Stores’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mike Spanos acquired 256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $390.54 per share, with a total value of $99,978.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,356 shares in the company, valued at $1,310,652.24. The trade was a 8.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 250 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.01, for a total transaction of $109,252.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,067,615.43. This represents a 9.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Casey’s General Stores

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CASY. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in Casey’s General Stores in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC grew its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 325.0% in the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 68 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 160.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is owned by 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.