PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $85.79, but opened at $87.64. PriceSmart shares last traded at $92.43, with a volume of 114,875 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

PriceSmart Stock Performance

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 has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.79 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $87.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.94.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last released its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.76% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $161,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,606,545. This trade represents a 9.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Mccleary sold 4,000 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.67, for a total value of $358,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 58,141 shares in the company, valued at $5,213,503.47. The trade was a 6.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,162 shares of company stock valued at $1,930,402. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PriceSmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in PriceSmart by 1.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 53,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,873,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $312,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 39,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,627,000 after buying an additional 6,137 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in PriceSmart by 227.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,287,000 after acquiring an additional 32,438 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in PriceSmart by 3.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 684,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,868,000 after acquiring an additional 25,216 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.