PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Friday.

PriceSmart Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of PSMT stock opened at $120.94 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $111.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51 and a beta of 0.79. PriceSmart has a twelve month low of $81.25 and a twelve month high of $121.50.

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

Insider Activity at PriceSmart

In other PriceSmart news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total value of $58,470.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 77,908 shares in the company, valued at $8,282,399.48. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Mccleary sold 9,754 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.62, for a total value of $1,078,987.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,208,210.84. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in PriceSmart by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,401,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,236,000 after purchasing an additional 100,785 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,045,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,872,000 after purchasing an additional 24,512 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 782,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,730,000 after purchasing an additional 160,656 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 740,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,812,000 after purchasing an additional 13,119 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in PriceSmart by 54.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 551,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,936,000 after acquiring an additional 194,980 shares during the period. 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.