Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) to Repurchase $1.00 billion in Outstanding Stock

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TSCO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $65.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $56.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $54.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.27. Tractor Supply has a fifty-two week low of $46.19 and a fifty-two week high of $61.53. The firm has a market cap of $30.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.84.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by ($1.84). Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 49.01% and a net margin of 7.40%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.46%. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tractor Supply

In other Tractor Supply news, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total transaction of $494,481.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,876.37. This trade represents a 21.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Colin Yankee sold 24,602 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.15, for a total transaction of $1,332,198.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,821,876.75. This trade represents a 42.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 121,997 shares of company stock worth $6,635,785 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.