Written by StockNews.com

Casey’s General Stores Inc. (Nasdaq: CASY) late Monday [Mar 6, 2017 | 4:09pm] posted much worse than expected fiscal third quarter earnings results, as both profit and revenue badly missed expectations.

The Ankeny, IA-based convenience store operator reported Q3 EPS of $0.58, which was $0.30 worse than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $0.88.

Revenues rose 13% from last year to $1.77 billion, also missing analysts’ view for $1.81 billion.

Looking ahead, CASY said its fiscal 2017 goal in its fuel segment is to increase same-store gallons sold by 2.0%, with an average margin of 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline. In the most recent quarter, it saw 2.6% same-store gallons growth, and margins of 17.9 cents per gallon.

It also hopes to achieve full-year same-store sales growth of 6.2% with an average margin of 32.0%. In fiscal Q3, it saw same-store sales growth of just 3.0%, on average margins of 31.1%.

The company commented on its lackluster results via press release:

“Although pressures in our operating area persisted throughout the quarter, the Company continues to be an industry leader in same-store sales growth,” stated Terry Handley, President and CEO. “As a demonstration of our commitment to creating shareholder value, the Board of Directors authorized a new share repurchase program of up to an aggregate of $300 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock. We are excited about implementing the share repurchase program while at the same time accelerating future store growth.”

Speaking of that share repurchase plan, CASY said its board of directors authorized a new share buyback of up to $300 million, which was on of the few highlights of the company’s report.

Still, it wasn’t enough to please investors. Casey’s shares fell $6.70 (-5.87%) to $107.50 in after-hours trading Monday. Year-to-date, CASY had declined -3.71% prior to today’s report, versus a 6.41% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

CASY currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of C (Neutral), and is ranked #16 of 21 stocks in the Grocery/Big Box Retailers category.