Tractor Supply Co. - Momentum

Tractor Supply Co. (TSCO) just a hit a new all-time high at $53.95 after spiking on a solid 8% Q4 earnings surprise. With estimates on the rise and a bullish growth projection, this Zacks #1 rank stock adds some agricultural flavor to momentum.

Company Description

Tractor Supply Co. operates retail farm and ranch stores in the United States. The company was founded in 1938 and has a market cap of $3.86 billion.

Although TSCO has been trending higher for most of the last few months, shares got an extra boost on Jan 29 after the company reported strong Q4 results that easily beat expectations.

Fourth-Quarter Results

Revenue for the period was up 20% to $1.03 billion. Earnings also looked good, coming in at 67 cents, 8% ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate, in line with the company’s average earnings surprise over the last four quarters.

Same-store sales, a key retail metric, were up a very impressive 13%, a big jump from last year’s .7% on strength in both consumables and animal and pet related merchandise.

Tractor Supply also continued to pursuit its growth strategy, opening 27 new stores in the quarter to bring its total store count to 1,001.

Financial Profile

The company’s financial profile was also on the upswing, with cash and equivalents up $84 million to $257 million with no debt.

Estimates

The good quarter definitely showed up in estimates, with the current year adding 12 cents to $2.62. The next-year estimate is pegged at $2.98, a bullish 14% growth projection.

Valuation

But in spite of the gains, the valuation picture still looks reasonable, with a forward P/E of 20X only a slight premium to its peers 18X.

2-Year Chart

On the chart, shares spiked higher on the good quarter, hitting a new multi-year high at $53.95. Look for support from the long-term trend on any weakness. Take a look below.