PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $93.45, but opened at $82.03. PriceSmart shares last traded at $89.42, with a volume of 32,196 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 30th.

PriceSmart Stock Down 3.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,569,076.42. This represents a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 3,235 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.96, for a total transaction of $291,020.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,986,037.64. The trade was a 6.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,463 shares of company stock valued at $1,400,727. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in PriceSmart by 6.3% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 27,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $592,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in PriceSmart by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 63,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,183,000 after acquiring an additional 10,673 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in PriceSmart by 160.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,000 after acquiring an additional 5,076 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings in PriceSmart by 1.6% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 22,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

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.