Melius Research Initiates Coverage on Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Research analysts at Melius Research began coverage on shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $315.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock. Melius Research’s target price suggests a potential upside of 13.48% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Tractor Supply currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $258.96.

Tractor Supply Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ TSCO opened at $277.57 on Monday. Tractor Supply has a 12-month low of $185.00 and a 12-month high of $290.38. The stock has a market cap of $29.92 billion, a PE ratio of 27.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $268.04 and a 200 day moving average of $267.27.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The specialty retailer reported $3.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $3.93. Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.65% and a return on equity of 51.84%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. Tractor Supply’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Tractor Supply will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tractor Supply news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $141,669.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,356,349.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Tractor Supply

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TSCO. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 63.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,606,455 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $990,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,784,304 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,849,188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,257,751,000 after acquiring an additional 531,170 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,233,852 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,340,589,000 after acquiring an additional 439,954 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,330,621 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $871,691,000 after acquiring an additional 368,859 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 345,402 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.