Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.92

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 13th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of 0.92 per share by the specialty retailer on Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.46%. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22.

Tractor Supply has raised its dividend payment by an average of 28.4% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. Tractor Supply has a dividend payout ratio of 36.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Tractor Supply to earn $2.42 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.4%.

Tractor Supply Stock Up 2.0 %

Tractor Supply stock opened at $56.99 on Friday. Tractor Supply has a twelve month low of $46.19 and a twelve month high of $61.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.27. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $30.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.84.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on TSCO. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $64.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Tractor Supply from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Tractor Supply has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.22.

Tractor Supply declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tractor Supply

In other news, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,876.37. This trade represents a 21.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Colin Yankee sold 24,602 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.15, for a total transaction of $1,332,198.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,821,876.75. This trade represents a 42.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 121,997 shares of company stock valued at $6,635,785. Corporate insiders own 0.24% 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.