Investors are on the edge of their collective seats, hoping that Tractor Supply Company (Nasdaq: TSCO) will top analyst expectations for the fifth consecutive quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Wednesday, October 19. Tractor Supply is an operator of retail farm and ranch stores in the United States and is focused on supplying the lifestyle needs of recreational farmers and ranchers and those who enjoy the rural lifestyle. .

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts strongly back Tractor Supply Company, with 11 of 19 rating it a buy and the remainder rating it a hold. Analysts like Tractor Supply Company better than competitor Lumber Liquidators overall. While analysts still rate the stock a Moderate buy, they are a little more optimistic about it compared to three months ago.
  • Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $933.1 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 12.5% from the year-ago quarter.
  • Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of 52 cents per share. Estimates range from 49 cents to 55 cents.

What our community says:
 CAPS All Stars are solidly behind the stock with 92.2% awarding it an "outperform" rating. The community at large backs the All Stars with 90.1% granting it a rating of "outperform." Fools are bullish on Tractor Supply Company and haven't been shy with their opinions lately, logging 109 posts in the past 30 days. Despite the majority sentiment in favor of Tractor Supply Company, the stock has a middling CAPS rating of three out of five stars.

Management:
 Tractor Supply Company's profit has risen year over year by an average of 48.2% over the past five quarters.

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows gross, operating, and net margins over the past four quarters.

Quarter

Q2

Q1

Q4

Q3

Gross Margin

34.2%

32.7%

32.6%

33.7%

Operating Margin

12.2%

3.4%

7.6%

6.1%

Net Margin

7.7%

2.2%

4.9%

3.9%

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