PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

PSMT opened at $89.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.76. PriceSmart has a 1 year low of $74.74 and a 1 year high of $99.23. The company has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53 and a beta of 0.86.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.22). PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 12.63%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that PriceSmart will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In other PriceSmart news, EVP David R. Price sold 2,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.24, for a total value of $253,660.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,505,370.56. This trade represents a 5.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Mccleary sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.62, for a total transaction of $358,480.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,569,076.42. This trade represents a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,463 shares of company stock valued at $1,400,727. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in PriceSmart in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in PriceSmart by 96.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 66.7% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 423.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PriceSmart Company Profile

PriceSmart, Inc owns and operates U.S.-style membership shopping warehouse clubs in the United States, Central America, the Caribbean, and Colombia. The company provides basic and private label consumer products under the Member's Selection brand, including groceries, cleaning supplies, health and beauty aids, meat, produce, deli, seafood, and poultry.