PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $95.22 and last traded at $94.86, with a volume of 32320 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 30th.

PriceSmart Stock Up 3.7 %

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.73. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 12.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at PriceSmart

In related news, EVP David R. Price sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.24, for a total transaction of $253,660.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 48,844 shares in the company, valued at $4,505,370.56. This represents a 5.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.03, for a total transaction of $75,281.81. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 84,385 shares in the company, valued at $7,681,566.55. This represents a 0.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,290 shares of company stock valued at $1,476,009. 18.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in PriceSmart by 2.3% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 76.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in PriceSmart by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 9,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $801,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in PriceSmart by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in PriceSmart by 3.2% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $750,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.