PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded 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 Stock Down 1.9 %

PSMT opened at $78.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65 and a beta of 0.92. PriceSmart has a 52 week low of $61.82 and a 52 week high of $86.90. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.71.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 10th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 2.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PriceSmart will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PriceSmart news, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.08, for a total value of $85,011.00. Following the sale, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $697,643.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 937 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $74,828.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,969 shares in the company, valued at $636,404.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PriceSmart

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PSMT. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of PriceSmart in the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of PriceSmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 80.3% during the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 30,300.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 331.4% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the period. 80.46% of the stock is currently 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.