Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 752,900 shares, an increase of 13.9% from the September 30th total of 660,800 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 237,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of CASY stock traded down $2.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $398.51. 238,867 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 271,587. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.67 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.84. Casey’s General Stores has a 52 week low of $266.55 and a 52 week high of $401.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $377.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $361.79.

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

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Darren M. Rebelez sold 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.54, for a total transaction of $5,056,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,655,284.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Darren M. Rebelez sold 13,500 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.54, for a total value of $5,056,290.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,838 shares in the company, valued at $27,655,284.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Thomas P. Brennan, Jr. sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.24, for a total transaction of $1,140,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,438,890.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Park Place Capital Corp bought a new position in Casey’s General Stores during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 22.5% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $393.00 to $403.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $337.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $435.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $408.09.

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.