Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) Cut to Hold at Citigroup

Citigroup lowered shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday, Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on TSCO. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Tractor Supply from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group upgraded Tractor Supply from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $300.00 to $332.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tractor Supply currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.50.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

TSCO opened at $297.62 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company has a market cap of $32.09 billion, a PE ratio of 28.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $279.96 and a 200-day moving average of $272.03. Tractor Supply has a 52-week low of $185.00 and a 52-week high of $307.64.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The specialty retailer reported $3.93 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $3.93. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 51.84% and a net margin of 7.65%. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is 42.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $141,669.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,356,349.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Tractor Supply news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 23,532 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.64, for a total value of $6,957,000.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,862,682.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $141,669.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,356,349.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Tractor Supply

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TSCO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Tractor Supply by 12.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,330,621 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $871,691,000 after purchasing an additional 368,859 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Tractor Supply by 2,921.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 357,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $96,451,000 after acquiring an additional 345,402 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 11,952.8% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 241,177 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $63,121,000 after purchasing an additional 239,176 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply during the second quarter worth $38,070,000. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply during the first quarter worth $34,262,000. 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.