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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday.

PriceSmart Price Performance

PSMT opened at $89.25 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $91.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.76. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53 and a beta of 0.86. PriceSmart has a 52 week low of $74.74 and a 52 week high of $99.23.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David R. Price sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.24, for a total transaction of $253,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,844 shares in the company, valued at $4,505,370.56. This represents a 5.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Mccleary sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 62,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,569,076.42. The trade was a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,463 shares of company stock valued at $1,400,727. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PriceSmart

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,085,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,175,000 after acquiring an additional 184,252 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in PriceSmart by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 481,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,163,000 after purchasing an additional 75,896 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in PriceSmart by 2.7% during the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,818,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,721,000 after purchasing an additional 74,201 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 5.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,182,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,552,000 after purchasing an additional 65,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 179.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 57,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,633,000 after purchasing an additional 36,614 shares during the period. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PriceSmart

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.