Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. Approximately 130,909 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the previous session’s volume of 278,465 shares.The stock last traded at $374.81 and had previously closed at $354.52.

The company reported $4.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.29. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 3.38%. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.52 EPS. Casey’s General Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is 14.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CASY has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $298.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Northcoast Research raised Casey’s General Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $410.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $342.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $393.00 to $403.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CASY. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 768,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,592,000 after buying an additional 10,841 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 3.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 468,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,822,000 after purchasing an additional 14,750 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 20.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 458,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,771,000 after purchasing an additional 77,515 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the fourth quarter worth $115,799,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the first quarter valued at $112,081,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $13.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $373.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $342.17.

Casey’s General Stores Company Profile

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.