PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

PriceSmart Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ PSMT opened at $90.92 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89 and a beta of 0.85. PriceSmart has a one year low of $66.95 and a one year high of $94.82.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.07). The company 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 for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that PriceSmart will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In related news, CFO Michael Mccleary sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.62, for a total value of $358,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,569,076.42. This trade represents a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.05, for a total transaction of $59,663.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 79,470 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,803.50. The trade was a 0.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,960 shares of company stock worth $1,535,673 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 18.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PriceSmart

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PSMT. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in PriceSmart during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in PriceSmart in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in PriceSmart by 76.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 418 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in PriceSmart by 237.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. 80.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.