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

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 12th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.50 per share on Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st.

Casey’s General Stores has raised its dividend by an average of 1.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 24 consecutive years. Casey’s General Stores has a dividend payout ratio of 11.2% indicating that 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 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CASY traded up $23.63 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $402.34. 594,477 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 269,539. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $409.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $399.61. The company has a market cap of $14.93 billion, a PE ratio of 28.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.88. Casey’s General Stores has a 1-year low of $290.00 and a 1-year high of $445.17.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.57. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 17.17% and a net margin of 3.57%. The company had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.33 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on CASY. Gordon Haskett raised Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $450.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $438.00 price objective on Casey’s General Stores and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Casey’s General Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $423.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of the company’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 value of $192,208.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,247 shares in the company, valued at $959,761.11. This represents a 16.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mike Spanos purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $396.76 per share, with a total value of $198,380.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,228,765.72. The trade was a 19.25 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Company Profile

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.