Tractor Supply (TSCO) Competitors

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) and Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) are both large-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, media sentiment and institutional ownership.

Does the media prefer TSCO or COST?

In the previous week, Costco Wholesale had 116 more articles in the media than Tractor Supply. MarketBeat recorded 152 mentions for Costco Wholesale and 36 mentions for Tractor Supply. Costco Wholesale's average media sentiment score of 1.13 beat Tractor Supply's score of 1.00 indicating that Costco Wholesale is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Tractor Supply	26 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Costco Wholesale	96 Very Positive mention(s)	19 Positive mention(s)	23 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is TSCO or COST more profitable?

Tractor Supply has a net margin of 7.24% compared to Costco Wholesale's net margin of 2.92%. Tractor Supply's return on equity of 47.56% beat Costco Wholesale's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Tractor Supply	7.24%	47.56%	10.89%
Costco Wholesale	2.92%	30.48%	10.52%

Which has more volatility and risk, TSCO or COST?

Tractor Supply has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Costco Wholesale has a beta of 0.97, meaning that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend TSCO or COST?

Tractor Supply currently has a consensus target price of $58.02, suggesting a potential downside of 0.03%. Costco Wholesale has a consensus target price of $1,037.48, suggesting a potential upside of 5.77%. Given Costco Wholesale's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Costco Wholesale is more favorable than Tractor Supply.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Tractor Supply	1 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60
Costco Wholesale	0 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	19 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.68

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of TSCO or COST?

98.7% of Tractor Supply shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.5% of Costco Wholesale shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Tractor Supply shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Costco Wholesale shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is TSCO or COST a better dividend stock?

Tractor Supply pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Costco Wholesale pays an annual dividend of $5.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Tractor Supply pays out 45.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Costco Wholesale pays out 29.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Tractor Supply has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years and Costco Wholesale has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, TSCO or COST?

Costco Wholesale has higher revenue and earnings than Tractor Supply. Tractor Supply is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Costco Wholesale, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Tractor Supply	$14.88B	2.07	$1.10B	$2.01	28.88
Costco Wholesale	$268.78B	1.62	$7.37B	$17.63	55.64

Summary

Costco Wholesale beats Tractor Supply on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.