Cleveland Research taketh away, Cleveland Research giveth... Analyst Thomas Mahoney on Tuesday told clients that August sales at Tractor Supply picked up versus July numbers and should help the Brentwood-based retailer top Q3 estimates. His note — which came three months after his negative report stung Tractor Supply shares — has the stock (Ticker: TSCO) up almost 4 percent today and once again nearing $100 per share.

John Heinbockel at Guggenheim Securities thinks Dollar General will report better-than-consensus Q2 earnings on Wednesday. He sees EPS of 65 cents and expects comparable-store sales — a source of worry for some observers of late — to still top 5 percent. But, he says, the discounter's stock (Ticker: DG) may still take a hit if private-equity owners Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Goldman Sachs bring a chunk of shares to market as they have every three months for more than a year. The last four of those secondaries, he notes, have on average been marketed at a 3.6 percent discount.