Tractor Supply Surprises (Zacks.com)

Thursday July 24, 1:16 pm ET By Robert Plaza, CFA Tractor Supply (NasdaqGS: TSCO - News ) reported better-than-expected results for the second quarter, beating the consensus estimate by $0.05. Management reiterated its sales and EPS guidance for full-year 2008. We are increasing our sales and EPS estimates for 2008 and 2009. Despite the difficult macro conditions - including higher food and energy prices and weak consumer confidence - Tractor Supply's focus on sales growth and cost controls is enabling the company to deliver solid results. We think the stock is still cheap and represents a buying opportunity at these levels. We maintain our Buy rating and increase our target price from $37 to $39, which is about 15x our 2008 EPS estimate. In our view, Tractor Supply's unique retail concept, store locations, and target... [read full story]