PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of PSMT stock opened at $85.45 on Thursday. PriceSmart has a 1-year low of $64.41 and a 1-year high of $94.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $89.95 and its 200 day moving average is $85.55. The company has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.70 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.07). PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 12.76%. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. PriceSmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that PriceSmart will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PriceSmart news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.03, for a total value of $75,281.81. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 84,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,681,566.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 18.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PriceSmart

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in PriceSmart by 2.3% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $592,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 76.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 418 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 1.9% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 9,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 5.2% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 3.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.