Short Interest in Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) Rises By 13,348.9%

Key Points

• Short interest in Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) surged by 13,348.9% in July, reaching 45 million shares, indicating heightened investor pessimism. The short-interest ratio stands at 7.4 days based on an average trading volume of 6.11 million shares.
• Insider trading activity included EVP Jonathan S. Estep selling 35,825 shares for approximately $2 million, resulting in a 32.44% decrease in his ownership, while other insiders sold a total of 207,490 shares worth over $12 million in the past ninety days.
• Tractor Supply recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.81 per share, beating estimates, along with a revenue increase of 4.5% compared to the previous year, signaling potential growth despite a cautious market outlook.

Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 45,000,000 shares, agrowthof13,348.9% from the June 30th total of 334,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.4 days. Based on an average trading volume of 6,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.4 days.

Insider Transactions at Tractor Supply

In other Tractor Supply news, EVP Jonathan S. Estep sold 35,825 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $2,006,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 74,605 shares in the company, valued at $4,177,880. The trade was a 32.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Noni L. Ellison sold 5,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.96, for a total transaction of $332,592.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 28,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,831,750.44. The trade was a 15.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 207,490 shares of company stock valued at $12,216,998 over the last ninety days. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TSCO. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Tractor Supply by 403.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,433,135 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,031,122,000 after purchasing an additional 15,575,311 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 334.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,429,288 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $818,421,000 after acquiring an additional 11,880,010 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 403.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,519,937 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $768,838,000 after acquiring an additional 11,634,249 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 287.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,417,152 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $552,735,000 after acquiring an additional 7,729,628 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 407.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,766,224 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $465,136,000 after acquiring an additional 7,040,165 shares during the period. 98.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on TSCO shares. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $70.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.80.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

TSCO stock traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $57.63. 5,310,215 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,694,224. Tractor Supply has a twelve month low of $46.85 and a twelve month high of $63.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.75.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.01. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 46.83% and a net margin of 7.18%. The company had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.93 earnings per share. Tractor Supply's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 28th. Tractor Supply's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.10%.

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.

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