Wall Street Zen Upgrades Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) to “Buy”

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on CASY. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $610.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Stephens upped their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and five have assigned 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 $615.50.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Casey’s General Stores stock opened at $665.86 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $597.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $558.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $24.68 billion, a PE ratio of 40.95, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.68. Casey’s General Stores has a 12 month low of $372.08 and a 12 month high of $678.67.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $5.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.92 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $4.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.51 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Moats Maria Castanon purchased 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $554.66 per share, for a total transaction of $166,398.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,391.98. This trade represents a 59.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Casey’s General Stores

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 5,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,839,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. raised its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 2.2% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 2.1% during the third quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Casey’s General Stores

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.