Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-five ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.7826.

Several equities analysts recently commented on TSCO shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Tractor Supply from $67.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Tractor Supply from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Tractor Supply from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tractor Supply

In other news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 84,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.16, for a total transaction of $4,501,057.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 606,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,259,720.72. The trade was a 12.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 1,884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.81, for a total transaction of $101,378.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 52,562 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,828,361.22. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 222,348 shares of company stock valued at $11,959,621. 0.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tractor Supply

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Buckhead Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 310.3% during the third quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 36,863 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,096,000 after buying an additional 27,878 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 1.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,931,699 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,474,736,000 after acquiring an additional 420,731 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of Omaha purchased a new stake in Tractor Supply in the third quarter worth about $5,069,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 63,881 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,633,000 after acquiring an additional 21,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 289,610 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $16,470,000 after acquiring an additional 24,312 shares in the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tractor Supply Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ TSCO opened at $43.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Tractor Supply has a 52 week low of $43.35 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a fifty day moving average of $50.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.81.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 44.36%. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is 46.38%.

Tractor Supply Company Profile

Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ: TSCO) is a specialty retailer focused on products for the home, farm, ranch and outdoors. The company operates a network of physical retail locations complemented by an e-commerce platform, offering a one-stop source of supplies and equipment for customers with rural and suburban lifestyles. Its merchandise assortment targets a range of needs, from animal and livestock care to maintenance, outdoor power equipment, and seasonal products.

Product categories include animal feed and supplies, pet products, fencing and fencing supplies, equine equipment, lawn and garden tools, work clothing and footwear, and small agricultural and outdoor power equipment.