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

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their target price on Tractor Supply from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Tractor Supply from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Tractor Supply currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.78.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Tractor Supply stock opened at $53.89 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $28.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.74. Tractor Supply has a one year low of $46.85 and a one year high of $63.99.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.03). Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 44.36% and a net margin of 7.06%.The company had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.44%.

Insider Activity at Tractor Supply

In related news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 84,670 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.16, for a total value of $4,501,057.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 606,842 shares in the company, valued at $32,259,720.72. This represents a 12.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert D. Mills sold 62,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.12, for a total transaction of $3,406,854.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 122,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,647,776.08. The trade was a 33.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 222,348 shares of company stock worth $11,959,621. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Tractor Supply

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TSCO. Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Tractor Supply during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tractor Supply during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

About Tractor Supply

Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ: TSCO) is a specialty retailer focused on products for the home, farm, ranch and outdoors. The company operates a network of physical retail locations complemented by an e-commerce platform, offering a one-stop source of supplies and equipment for customers with rural and suburban lifestyles. Its merchandise assortment targets a range of needs, from animal and livestock care to maintenance, outdoor power equipment, and seasonal products.

Product categories include animal feed and supplies, pet products, fencing and fencing supplies, equine equipment, lawn and garden tools, work clothing and footwear, and small agricultural and outdoor power equipment.