Jeffrey Fisher Sells 5,000 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) Stock

PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,611 shares in the company, valued at $1,730,823. This trade represents a 21.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

PriceSmart Stock Up 0.2 %

PSMT stock opened at $94.86 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.43. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.51 and a 1-year high of $99.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.89 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $92.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.93.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. PriceSmart’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PriceSmart

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 13,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,104,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in PriceSmart in the third quarter worth about $124,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of PriceSmart by 96.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.