Tractor Supply’s (TSCO) Buy Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $256.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Tractor Supply from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Raymond James cut Tractor Supply from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Wedbush upped their price objective on Tractor Supply from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Tractor Supply from $192.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Tractor Supply from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $241.65.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TSCO opened at $265.26 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $251.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Tractor Supply has a 1-year low of $185.00 and a 1-year high of $268.02. The company has a market cap of $28.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.84.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The specialty retailer reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.06. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 53.60% and a net margin of 7.61%. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.43 EPS. Tractor Supply’s revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 10.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tractor Supply

In other Tractor Supply news, EVP Robert D. Mills sold 48,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.23, for a total transaction of $11,224,604.82. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,147,842.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 401 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.06, for a total transaction of $93,056.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,804,516.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Robert D. Mills sold 48,334 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.23, for a total value of $11,224,604.82. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,147,842.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 90,090 shares of company stock valued at $21,201,877 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tractor Supply

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tractor Supply during the 4th quarter worth approximately $782,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Tractor Supply by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 113,873 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $23,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,014 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in Tractor Supply by 2,120.1% in the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 121,817 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,194,000 after purchasing an additional 116,330 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its stake in Tractor Supply by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Tractor Supply by 32,987.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 270,325 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $58,128,000 after purchasing an additional 269,508 shares in the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Tractor Supply

Tractor Supply Company operates as a rural lifestyle retailer in the United States. The company offers various merchandise, including livestock and equine feed and equipment, poultry, fencing, and sprayers and chemicals; food, treats, and equipment for dogs, cats, and other small animals, as well as dog wellness products; seasonal and recreation products comprising tractors and riders, lawn and garden, bird feeding, power equipment, and other recreational products; truck, tool, and hardware products, such as truck accessories, trailers, generators, lubricants, batteries, and hardware and tools; and clothing, gift, and décor products consist of clothing, footwear, toys, snacks, and decorative merchandise.