PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Raised to "Buy" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PSMT traded up $2.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $92.46. 179,061 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 242,703. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.67. PriceSmart has a 1 year low of $74.74 and a 1 year high of $99.23. The company has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 1.26.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that PriceSmart will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 555 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.42, for a total value of $50,183.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,143,903.36. This trade represents a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 580 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.40, for a total transaction of $53,592.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 858 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $79,279.20. This represents a 40.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,725 shares of company stock worth $2,685,625 over the last quarter. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. South Dakota Investment Council acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $654,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $928,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 128,191 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,815,000 after purchasing an additional 2,831 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in PriceSmart by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 23,857 shares of the company's stock worth $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, James Investment Research Inc. increased its position in PriceSmart by 123.1% during the fourth quarter. James Investment Research Inc. now owns 6,422 shares of the company's stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 3,544 shares during the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is currently 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.