Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

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

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on CASY. Zacks Research raised shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Friday, January 9th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on 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. Finally, Northcoast Research cut Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Casey’s General Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.50.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

CASY stock opened at $665.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Casey’s General Stores has a 1 year low of $372.08 and a 1 year high of $678.67. The company has a market cap of $24.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $597.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $557.60.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Casey’s General Stores

In other news, Director Moats Maria Castanon bought 300 shares of the 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 purchase, the director owned 803 shares in the company, valued at $445,391.98. This represents a 59.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition 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 Investors Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the third quarter worth about $1,018,000. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp grew its position in Casey’s General Stores by 157.2% during the 2nd quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 8,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,366,000 after purchasing an additional 5,230 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Casey’s General Stores by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 708,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,727,000 after purchasing an additional 2,467 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 191,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,065,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 82.3% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,456,000 after buying an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is 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.