Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) Rating Reiterated by Benchmark

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $256.00 price objective on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on TSCO. Stephens lowered Tractor Supply from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and upped their target price for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Tractor Supply from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Tractor Supply from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Tractor Supply from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an underweight rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $241.65.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $253.38 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $250.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.84. 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 12 month low of $185.00 and a 12 month high of $268.02.

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

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $1.10 dividend. 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 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.61%.

Insider Activity at Tractor Supply

In related news, EVP Colin Yankee sold 8,675 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $2,168,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,418,250. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Tractor Supply news, EVP Colin Yankee sold 8,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $2,168,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,418,250. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan S. Estep sold 7,120 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.26, for a total transaction of $1,653,691.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,159,897.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 90,090 shares of company stock worth $21,201,877. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tractor Supply

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of TSCO. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 27.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,175 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 13.4% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 23.2% in the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 3.4% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 21,241 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,264,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,641,000. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Company Profile

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.