Buy Rating on Casey’s: Leveraging High-Margin Foodservice, Store Expansion, and Favorable Midwest Dynamics for Sustained EBITDA Growth

Casey’s General (CASY) has received a new Buy rating, initiated by Bank of America Securities analyst, Lisa Lewandowski.

Lisa Lewandowski has given his Buy rating due to a combination of factors that highlight Casey’s attractive growth and profitability profile. She views the company’s emphasis on higher‑margin foodservice, coupled with steady high-single-digit EBITDA growth, as justification for a valuation premium versus convenience-store peers. Despite fuel still representing a large share of reported sales, strong inside-store traffic and the fact that most in-store purchases are not tied to gasoline reinforce the strength of Casey’s core retail proposition. She also expects additional upside as recently acquired CEFCO locations are converted to the Casey’s format, supporting further margin expansion.

Lisa Lewandowski’s rating is based on confidence in the company’s strategic and geographic positioning. Casey’s is a leading player in convenience retail, pizza, and beverage/alcohol in predominantly small-town markets where it still has meaningful white-space for new store openings. Management’s current three‑year plan has been progressing well, with targeted EBITDA growth, store expansion, and free cash flow generation largely on track despite a challenging fuel and consumer backdrop. Finally, Casey’s heavy exposure to the Midwest aligns it with a region benefiting from solid wage growth, healthy consumer spending, and potential incremental economic activity from large-scale projects, all of which support continued earnings growth and the Buy recommendation.

According to TipRanks, Lewandowski is ranked #1178 out of 10356 analysts.

In another report released yesterday, Deutsche Bank also initiated coverage with a Buy rating on the stock with a $688.00 price target.