StockNews.com Lowers PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) to Buy

StockNews.com lowered shares of PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, TheStreet raised PriceSmart from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th.

PriceSmart Price Performance

PriceSmart stock opened at $79.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03 and a beta of 0.92. PriceSmart has a 12-month low of $61.82 and a 12-month high of $86.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $81.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.68.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 10th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.07. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. PriceSmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that PriceSmart will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a None dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.08, for a total value of $85,011.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $697,643.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 18.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of PriceSmart in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the third quarter worth about $47,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 80.3% during the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 759 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 30,300.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 912 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 331.4% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.46% 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.