Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Stock Holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 25,983 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,152 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in PriceSmart were worth $2,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,085,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,175,000 after purchasing an additional 184,252 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 481,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,163,000 after purchasing an additional 75,896 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 28.9% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 234,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,047,000 after purchasing an additional 52,600 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 179.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 57,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,633,000 after purchasing an additional 36,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,309,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,311,000 after purchasing an additional 35,390 shares during the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PSMT opened at $89.88 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.48. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.95 and a 12 month high of $94.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 12.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In related news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.03, for a total value of $75,281.81. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 84,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,681,566.55. The trade was a 0.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 3,235 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.96, for a total value of $291,020.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,986,037.64. This represents a 6.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,290 shares of company stock worth $1,476,009 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 18.60% of the company’s stock.

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.