James Investment Research Inc. Raises Stake in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

James Investment Research Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 123.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,422 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,544 shares during the period. James Investment Research Inc.'s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PSMT. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 3,905.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 681 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 66.7% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 423.1% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the period. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 1,107 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.22, for a total value of $96,552.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,862 shares in the company, valued at $598,503.64. This trade represents a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 8,020 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.51, for a total value of $725,890.20. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 123,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,182,238.97. The trade was a 6.10 % 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 90 days. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded PriceSmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

Shares of PriceSmart stock traded up $1.33 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $89.56. 256,978 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 231,693. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.51 and a 1 year high of $99.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $91.65 and a 200-day moving average of $90.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.73 and a beta of 0.85.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.22). PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. PriceSmart's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.75%.

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.