PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday.

PriceSmart Price Performance

NASDAQ:PSMT opened at $93.55 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61 and a beta of 0.85. PriceSmart has a 12 month low of $77.51 and a 12 month high of $99.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $92.15 and its 200 day moving average is $89.95.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. PriceSmart’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PriceSmart will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PriceSmart news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.42, for a total transaction of $50,183.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,143,903.36. The trade was a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Michael Mccleary sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.67, for a total value of $358,680.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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. Insiders have sold 20,962 shares of company stock valued at $1,911,398 over the last ninety days. 17.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PriceSmart

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC increased its stake in PriceSmart by 227.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,287,000 after acquiring an additional 32,438 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 18.4% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 18,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after buying an additional 5,818 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,030,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.