Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

CASY has been the topic of several other reports. Evercore set a $665.00 target price on Casey’s General Stores and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $700.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $662.00 to $713.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $600.00 to $706.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Northcoast Research lowered Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Casey’s General Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $698.20.

Casey’s General Stores Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of CASY stock opened at $659.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.65. Casey’s General Stores has a 12-month low of $391.55 and a 12-month high of $696.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $653.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $587.01.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 9th. The company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.33 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Moats Maria Castanon bought 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $554.66 per share, with a total value of $166,398.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,391.98. This represents a 59.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.04, for a total value of $136,608.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 4,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,758,798.56. The trade was a 4.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Casey’s General Stores

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $2,839,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 2.2% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. LifeWealth Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 2.1% in the third quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 valued at $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 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 (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.