Wall Street Zen Downgrades Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) to Sell

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

TSCO has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group set a $54.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $62.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.02.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

Tractor Supply stock opened at $50.94 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.51. The company has a market cap of $27.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.20. Tractor Supply has a fifty-two week low of $46.85 and a fifty-two week high of $61.53.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 49.01% and a net margin of 7.40%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

Tractor Supply announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Tractor Supply

In related news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 2,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.76, for a total transaction of $145,445.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,722 shares in the company, valued at $1,538,410.72. This represents a 8.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Tractor Supply

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,646 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in Tractor Supply by 449.1% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 16,034 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 13,114 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in Tractor Supply by 400.2% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 6,208 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 4,967 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in Tractor Supply by 393.6% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 115,659 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,137,000 after buying an additional 92,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Tractor Supply by 400.4% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 68,586 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,639,000 after buying an additional 54,880 shares during the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.