Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) Increases Dividend to $0.92 Per Share

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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.54%. 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 raised its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. Tractor Supply has a 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 Price Performance

Shares of Tractor Supply stock traded up $0.40 during trading on Thursday, reaching $56.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 372,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,412,865. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $54.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.26. The company has a market capitalization of $30.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Tractor Supply has a 12-month low of $46.19 and a 12-month high of $61.53.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on TSCO. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup lowered shares of Tractor Supply from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Tractor Supply from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total value of $494,481.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,876.37. This trade represents a 21.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.59, for a total transaction of $4,809,106.05. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.