Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) Authorizes Share Buyback Program

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TSCO has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tractor Supply presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ TSCO opened at $57.14 on Friday. Tractor Supply has a 1-year low of $46.76 and a 1-year high of $61.53. The company has a market cap of $30.51 billion, a PE ratio of 28.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50-day moving average of $54.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.30.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by ($1.84). Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 49.01% and a net margin of 7.40%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.44%. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is 43.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total transaction of $494,481.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,876.37. The trade was a 21.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.59, for a total transaction of $4,809,106.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 488,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,686,430.68. This trade represents a 15.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 134,143 shares of company stock valued at $7,315,961 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Company Profile

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.