Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO – Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,390,000 shares, an increase of 15.8% from the February 13th total of 3,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days. Currently, 4.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Tractor Supply Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $229.65 on Wednesday. Tractor Supply has a 1-year low of $166.49 and a 1-year high of $241.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $226.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.83.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The specialty retailer reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $4.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.88 billion. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 56.65% and a net margin of 7.66%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 10.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 27th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 24th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tractor Supply news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 2,001 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.01, for a total value of $474,257.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $866,982.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.57, for a total transaction of $403,869.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,912,676.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 2,001 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.01, for a total transaction of $474,257.01. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $866,982.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,091 shares of company stock valued at $8,840,560 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tractor Supply

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TSCO. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its position in Tractor Supply by 1,426.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,706,997 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $317,297,000 after buying an additional 1,595,151 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $264,936,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Tractor Supply by 722.2% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,173,209 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $218,076,000 after buying an additional 1,030,524 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Tractor Supply by 136.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,510,112 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $282,316,000 after buying an additional 871,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Tractor Supply by 30.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,642,115 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $369,427,000 after purchasing an additional 387,155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on TSCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 5th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Tractor Supply from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Cowen initiated coverage on Tractor Supply in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cowen initiated coverage on Tractor Supply in a report on Thursday, February 16th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $245.00 target price on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.82.

Tractor Supply Company Profile

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Tractor Supply Co engages in the retail sale of farm and ranch products. It operates retail farm & ranch stores and focuses on supplying the lifestyle needs of recreational farmers and ranchers, as well as tradesmen and small businesses. The firm operates the retail stores under the names: Tractor Supply Company, Del’s Feed & Farm Supply, and Petsense.