Tractor Supply is fortunate to be in the agriculture market, a sector that's doing well despite overall market instability. No surprise that its stock is holding up better than most. One important metric to look for in a stock is an 80 or higher Relative Strength Rating. Tractor Supply cleared that benchmark Tuesday, with a jump to 84 from 78 recently. Better yet, that's the weakest of its ratings; its other indicators are higher. Tractor Supply stock rose Tuesday even as the Dow Jones crashed 700 points.
The new 84 RS Rating means that Tractor Supply stock has outperformed 84% of all stocks over the past year. Market research shows that the best stocks often have an RS Rating north of 80 in the early stages of their moves.
Other Key Tractor Supply Stock Ratings
Additionally, Brentwood, Tenn.-based Tractor Supply has a 93 IBD EPS Rating, reflecting strong recent and long-term profit growth. It also boasts a 92 Composite Rating. putting it in the top 8% of all stocks overall. Its C Accumulation/Distribution Rating on an A+ to E scale indicates roughly as much selling of its stock as buying by institutional investors.
The Composite Rating combines five separate proprietary IBD ratings, based on key fundamental and technical criteria, into one easy-to-use score. The best growth stocks have a Composite Rating of 90 or better.
Tractor Supply posted 18% earnings growth in its most recent report, to $1.93 per share. Revenue grew 15% to $3.32 billion. Tractor Supply stock fell to an intraday low of 186.67 on Feb. 24 in sync with the market correction. It's taken off recently, again in sync with some recent renewed vigor in the market. It was on track for a fourth straight higher close Tuesday. Shares were up 0.5% to near 205 Tuesday afternoon.
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Tractor Supply stock is building a consolidation with a 239.96 buy point. See if it can break out in volume at least 40% above average. Be aware that it's a third-stage base. Later-stage patterns can work, but are riskier than early stage patterns because by the third stage the stock has already risen significantly.
Peers In Retail/Wholesale Group
Tractor Supply stock holds the No. 4 rank among its peers in the Retail/Wholesale-Building Products industry group. Applied Industrial Technologies and Beacon Roofing Supply are also among the group's highest-rated stocks.
When you're researching the best stocks to buy and watch, keep a close on eye on relative price strength.
This exclusive rating from Investor's Business Daily tracks market leadership with a 1 (worst) to 99 (best) score. The Relative Strength Rating shows how a stock's price behavior over the last 52 weeks stacks up against all the other stocks in our database.
[The EPS Rating, Composite Rating and Accumulation/Distribution Rating for this story were incorrect when it published on March 1. All ratings are now correct as of March 2.]
