PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

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

PriceSmart Trading Down 0.2 %

PriceSmart stock opened at $89.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 0.85. PriceSmart has a 12 month low of $66.95 and a 12 month high of $94.82. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.56. 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, October 30th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.63% and a net margin of 2.83%. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that PriceSmart will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.03, for a total transaction of $75,281.81. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 84,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,681,566.55. The trade was a 0.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 3,235 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.96, for a total value of $291,020.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,986,037.64. This represents a 6.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,290 shares of company stock worth $1,476,009 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 18.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PriceSmart

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PSMT. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in PriceSmart during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of 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 period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in PriceSmart in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in PriceSmart in the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. 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.