Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.50

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 5th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share on Monday, February 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd.

Casey’s General Stores has increased its dividend by an average of 1.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 25 years. Casey’s General Stores has a dividend payout ratio of 11.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Casey’s General Stores to earn $15.78 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.7%.

Casey’s General Stores Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of CASY stock opened at $421.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.82. Casey’s General Stores has a 1 year low of $269.35 and a 1 year high of $439.68. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $408.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $391.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.56. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.24 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on CASY shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $403.00 to $428.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Gordon Haskett started coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Monday, November 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Casey’s General Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $427.13, for a total transaction of $192,208.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $959,761.11. The trade was a 16.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mike Spanos purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $396.76 per share, for a total transaction of $198,380.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,228,765.72. This trade represents a 19.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

About Casey’s General Stores

Casey’s General Stores, Inc engages in the provision of management and operation of convenience stores and gasoline stations. It provides self-service gasoline, a wide selection of grocery items, and an array of freshly prepared food items. The firm offers food, beverages, tobacco products, health and beauty aids, automotive products, and other non-food items.