Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) Upgraded by Bank of America to "Buy" Rating

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Bank of America from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $70.00 target price on the specialty retailer's stock. Bank of America's price objective indicates a potential upside of 16.17% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Stephens assumed coverage on Tractor Supply in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Tractor Supply from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group set a $54.00 price target on Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Tractor Supply from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.50.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

NASDAQ:TSCO traded up $0.64 on Thursday, reaching $60.26. 10,047,435 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,637,208. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.27. The firm has a market cap of $31.95 billion, a PE ratio of 29.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.75. Tractor Supply has a 12 month low of $46.85 and a 12 month high of $63.99.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.01. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 47.56% and a net margin of 7.24%. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.93 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tractor Supply news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 2,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.76, for a total transaction of $145,445.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 29,722 shares in the company, valued at $1,538,410.72. This represents a 8.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan S. Estep sold 35,825 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total value of $2,006,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 74,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,177,880. This represents a 32.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 104,445 shares of company stock worth $5,669,742 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Tractor Supply

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TSCO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 4.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,631,422 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,671,391,000 after purchasing an additional 2,597,450 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 16.0% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,604,769 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,521,023,000 after purchasing an additional 3,815,520 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 10.8% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 24,664,907 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,359,036,000 after purchasing an additional 2,408,373 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 403.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position 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 worth $818,421,000 after purchasing an additional 11,880,010 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company's stock.

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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