Short Interest in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) Grows By 31.3%

PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) was the target of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,760,000 shares, an increase of 31.3% from the July 31st total of 1,340,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 215,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.2 days. Approximately 6.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Approximately 6.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 215,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.2 days.

PriceSmart Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of PSMT opened at $111.00 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $108.59 and a 200 day moving average of $100.82. PriceSmart has a fifty-two week low of $81.25 and a fifty-two week high of $114.01. The firm has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.28.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.02). PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.46% and a net margin of 2.82%.The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that PriceSmart will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PriceSmart news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total transaction of $58,470.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 77,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,282,399.48. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in PriceSmart by 560.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 52.5% during the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th.

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.