Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) Short Interest Update

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,550,000 shares, a drop of 19.3% from the March 15th total of 10,590,000 shares. Approximately 8.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,160,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.4 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jonathan S. Estep sold 7,120 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.26, for a total transaction of $1,653,691.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,159,897.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Colin Yankee sold 8,675 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $2,168,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,418,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan S. Estep sold 7,120 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.26, for a total value of $1,653,691.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,159,897.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 90,090 shares of company stock worth $21,201,877. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tractor Supply

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TSCO. West Coast Financial LLC lifted its stake in Tractor Supply by 0.5% in the first quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 31,450 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $8,231,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 14.3% during the first quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,409 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 2.0% during the first quarter. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC now owns 319,153 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $83,529,000 after acquiring an additional 6,141 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 338.5% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,411 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,154,000 after acquiring an additional 3,405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Security Financial Services INC. purchased a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply during the first quarter worth $277,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Tractor Supply from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Tractor Supply from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Tractor Supply from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $256.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Tractor Supply from $256.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $239.83.

Tractor Supply Stock Down 2.1 %

TSCO traded down $5.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $244.89. 991,919 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 888,371. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.50. The company's fifty day moving average price is $248.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.25. The company has a market cap of $26.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.84. Tractor Supply has a one year low of $185.00 and a one year high of $268.02.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The specialty retailer reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.06. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 53.60% and a net margin of 7.61%. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.43 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 10.19 EPS for the current year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This is an increase from Tractor Supply's previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Tractor Supply's payout ratio is presently 43.61%.

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.