Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Short Interest Update

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 628,700 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the August 31st total of 595,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 253,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CASY opened at $377.47 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $373.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $351.71. The stock has a market cap of $14.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11 and a beta of 0.80. Casey’s General Stores has a fifty-two week low of $260.13 and a fifty-two week high of $401.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $4.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.54 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.15 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores will post 14.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is currently 14.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $393.00 to $403.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $420.00 to $444.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $407.64.

Insider Activity at Casey’s General Stores

In other news, Director Mike Spanos acquired 267 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $376.18 per share, with a total value of $100,440.06. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $975,810.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Casey’s General Stores news, insider Thomas P. Brennan, Jr. sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.24, for a total transaction of $1,140,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,438,890.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mike Spanos bought 267 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $376.18 per share, with a total value of $100,440.06. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $975,810.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Casey’s General Stores

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Congress Asset Management Co. MA acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores during the first quarter worth approximately $112,081,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 195.8% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $958,000 after purchasing an additional 2,309 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $903,000. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,498,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores during the first quarter worth approximately $794,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

About Casey’s General Stores

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.