Insider Selling: PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) COO Sells 7,421 Shares of Stock

PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) COO John Hildebrandt sold 7,421 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.88, for a total value of $1,015,786.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 108,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,809,594.72. This trade represents a 6.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

PriceSmart Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of PSMT stock traded up $4.80 on Wednesday, hitting $141.66. The stock had a trading volume of 225,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 215,779. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.25 and a 12-month high of $143.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $123.83 and a 200 day moving average of $117.05. The stock has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.91 and a beta of 0.74.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 2.79%.The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of PriceSmart

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 18,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,286,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in PriceSmart by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new stake in PriceSmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,464,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $332,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in PriceSmart in the third quarter worth $127,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of PriceSmart from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy”.

About PriceSmart

PriceSmart, Inc (NASDAQ: PSMT) is a U.S.-based retailer specializing in membership warehouse clubs. Founded in 1993, the company operates under a business model that offers bulk quantities of goods at discounted prices to individuals and businesses that purchase annual memberships. PriceSmart’s value proposition centers on low-cost operations, high-volume purchasing, and a no-frills shopping environment designed to pass savings directly to its members.

The company’s product assortment covers a broad range of merchandise categories, including groceries and fresh produce, household essentials, electronics, appliances, office supplies, furniture, and health and beauty items.