PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $123.21 and last traded at $122.68, with a volume of 46379 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $121.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PSMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of PriceSmart in a report on Saturday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

PriceSmart Stock Up 1.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.00 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $112.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.62.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 12.46%. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael Mccleary sold 9,754 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.62, for a total transaction of $1,078,987.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,208,210.84. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total value of $58,470.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 77,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,282,399.48. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PriceSmart

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in PriceSmart by 10.9% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 946 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its position in PriceSmart by 1.8% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 5,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in PriceSmart by 13.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 888 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its position in PriceSmart by 1.2% in the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA increased its position in PriceSmart by 5.0% in the second quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 2,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.