PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) Position Reduced by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC cut its position in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 97.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 344 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,665 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $32,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PSMT. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in PriceSmart by 330.0% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after buying an additional 17,356 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in PriceSmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 25,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,384,000 after buying an additional 1,152 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in PriceSmart by 431.0% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 32,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,001,000 after buying an additional 26,544 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in PriceSmart by 72.3% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 5,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $523,000 after buying an additional 2,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in PriceSmart by 3.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 438,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,247,000 after buying an additional 15,245 shares in the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th.

PriceSmart Price Performance

NASDAQ PSMT opened at $83.71 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44 and a beta of 0.84. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.51 and a 52-week high of $99.23.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. PriceSmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.75%.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In related news, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 8,020 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.51, for a total transaction of $725,890.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 123,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,182,238.97. This trade represents a 6.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Mccleary sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.67, for a total transaction of $358,680.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 58,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,213,503.47. The trade was a 6.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,162 shares of company stock valued at $1,930,402 over the last three months. 17.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.