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

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PSMT traded down $0.95 during trading on Monday, reaching $87.87. 278,502 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 232,651. PriceSmart has a 12 month low of $77.51 and a 12 month high of $99.23. The firm has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $90.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.22). PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.76% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that PriceSmart will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In other news, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 1,107 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.22, for a total transaction of $96,552.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $598,503.64. This represents a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Mccleary sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.67, for a total transaction of $358,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 58,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,213,503.47. This represents a 6.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,162 shares of company stock worth $1,930,402 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PriceSmart

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in PriceSmart by 536.7% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 3,905.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 393.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 715 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 17,300.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 870 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 865 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

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.