Federated Hermes Inc. Acquires 5,401 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 31,182 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,401 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $2,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in PriceSmart by 2.3% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in PriceSmart by 76.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 9,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 1.4% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 21,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of PSMT stock opened at $91.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.82 and a 12 month high of $92.76. The stock has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.11 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.74.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 10th. The company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.07. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 2.60%. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.02 EPS. PriceSmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In related news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 1,298 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.00, for a total value of $112,926.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,112,337. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Sherry S. Bahrambeygui sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.37, for a total value of $801,515.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 61,216 shares in the company, valued at $5,164,793.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 1,298 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.00, for a total value of $112,926.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,112,337. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,904 shares of company stock valued at $1,806,714 over the last quarter. 18.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th.

PriceSmart 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.