GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Position in PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 13.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 888 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 102 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $93,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in PriceSmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $261,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in PriceSmart in the 1st quarter worth approximately $219,000. Vest Financial LLC bought a new stake in PriceSmart in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,279,000. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its position in PriceSmart by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 26,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,288,000 after buying an additional 5,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in PriceSmart by 522.5% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 113,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,951,000 after buying an additional 95,073 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of PSMT stock opened at $121.61 on Friday. PriceSmart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.25 and a twelve month high of $123.20. The stock has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.66 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s fifty day moving average is $112.30 and its 200 day moving average is $104.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.02). PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.46% and a net margin of 2.82%.The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In other news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total value of $58,470.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 77,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,282,399.48. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Mccleary sold 9,754 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.62, for a total value of $1,078,987.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,208,210.84. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.