Tractor Supply Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 17,595 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 101% compared to the average volume of 8,757 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of TSCO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Tractor Supply during the 4th quarter valued at $303,862,000. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its stake in Tractor Supply by 41.9% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 12,713,409 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $670,887,000 after purchasing an additional 3,753,414 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,433,611 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $871,855,000 after purchasing an additional 2,706,819 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,705,579 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $385,356,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,046,977 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $252,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,595,803 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TSCO has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Argus lowered their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $64.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Tractor Supply from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective (down from $60.00) on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.88.

Tractor Supply Stock Down 0.9%

NASDAQ TSCO opened at $29.36 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Tractor Supply has a 52 week low of $28.36 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39, a PEG ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a fifty day moving average of $30.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.45.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The specialty retailer reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.04). Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 42.58% and a net margin of 6.91%.The firm had revenue of $3.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. Tractor Supply’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Tractor Supply will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is 47.06%.

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.