PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.07, Briefing.com reports. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 2.60%. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.02 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis.

PriceSmart Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:PSMT traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $80.88. 5,391 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 151,133. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. PriceSmart has a 52 week low of $61.82 and a 52 week high of $87.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $82.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PSMT. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of PriceSmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PriceSmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In other PriceSmart news, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 937 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $74,828.82. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,404.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other PriceSmart news, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.92, for a total transaction of $491,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 140,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,508,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 937 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $74,828.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,404.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,125 shares of company stock worth $2,175,282 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 18.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in PriceSmart by 114.4% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 492,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,692,000 after purchasing an additional 263,016 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 938.5% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 181,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,286,000 after purchasing an additional 164,449 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in PriceSmart by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,319,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,533,000 after buying an additional 141,920 shares during the last quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP acquired a new position in PriceSmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,738,000. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in PriceSmart by 2,132.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 88,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,670,000 after buying an additional 84,073 shares during the period. 80.46% of the stock is 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.