PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday.

PriceSmart Price Performance

PSMT stock traded down $2.51 during trading on Monday, hitting $91.29. 170,063 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 226,174. PriceSmart has a one year low of $77.51 and a one year high of $99.23. The stock has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PriceSmart news, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 1,107 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 6,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $598,503.64. The trade was a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 8,020 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.51, for a total transaction of $725,890.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 123,547 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,182,238.97. This represents a 6.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,962 shares of company stock valued at $1,911,398. Insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PriceSmart

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PSMT. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of PriceSmart by 536.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 312 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of PriceSmart by 3,905.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 681 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of PriceSmart by 393.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 715 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of PriceSmart by 96.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 405 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.