Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Shares in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 23,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,193,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned 0.08% of PriceSmart as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 536.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake 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 valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 393.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 17,300.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares during the period. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PSMT opened at $102.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.54 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.14. PriceSmart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.51 and a twelve month high of $108.01.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. PriceSmart’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.74, for a total transaction of $54,857.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,825,400.92. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.85, for a total value of $90,361.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,340,483.15. This represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Company 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.