QRG Capital Management Inc. Buys 306 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,598 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 560.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the first quarter worth $42,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the second quarter valued at $53,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the first quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 119.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the period. 80.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PriceSmart Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:PSMT opened at $118.63 on Friday. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.25 and a 12-month high of $124.59. The company has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 25.03 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day moving average of $113.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of PriceSmart in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In related news, EVP Michael Mccleary sold 9,754 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,208,210.84. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.82, for a total value of $67,551.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 80,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,892,905.36. This represents a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.