A Look at Casey’s Shareholder Returns and Valuations

Shares of Casey’s General Stores (CASY) fell 2.0% on December 8, 2016, a day after the company failed to meet expectations in its fiscal 2Q17 results. Casey’s has risen ~2.0% YTD (year-to-date).

In comparison, convenience store peers CST Brands (CST) and Murphy USA (MUSA) have risen 23.0% and 10.0%, respectively, YTD. However, supermarket peers Kroger (KR) and Supervalu (SVU) have fallen 17.0% and 21.0%, respectively, as of December 9, 2016.

Casey’s General Stores (CASY) has paid regular dividends since 1991. Along with its earnings release, the company announced a dividend of 24.0 cents per share. That dividend was in line with the previous quarter and 9.1% greater than the dividend offered in the same quarter of the prior year’s period. The dividend is payable on February 15, 2017.

Casey’s offers a one-year forward dividend yield of 0.70% and has a dividend payout of 17.0%. In comparison, other dividend-offering companies in the retail space offer better yields. For example, Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT) have dividend yields of 2.6% and 3.1%, respectively.

If you’re looking for exposure to Casey’s, you can invest in the ProShares S&P MidCap 400 Dividend Aristocrats (REGL), which has about 2.1% of its holdings in the company. REGL invests in companies that have increased their dividends for at least 15 consecutive years.

Casey’s is currently trading at a one-year forward PE (price-to-earnings) ratio of 21.0x. The company is better priced than CST Brands (CST), which is trading at a valuation of 28.3x. Murphy USA (MUSA) and Sunoco (SUN), however, are cheaper than Casey’s, trading at 14.2x and 16.7x, respectively, as of December 9, 2016.