Hennessy Advisors Inc. Invests $10.33 Million in PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 98,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,325,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PSMT. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 560.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the first quarter worth approximately $49,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in PriceSmart in the second quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in PriceSmart by 119.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PriceSmart Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ PSMT opened at $123.22 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.48. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.25 and a 12-month high of $123.61.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 12.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PSMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of PriceSmart in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In other PriceSmart news, EVP Michael Mccleary sold 9,754 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.62, for a total transaction of $1,078,987.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,208,210.84. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total value of $58,470.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 77,908 shares in the company, valued at $8,282,399.48. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.