PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Separately, TheStreet upgraded PriceSmart from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th.

PriceSmart Stock Up 0.3 %

PSMT opened at $79.71 on Friday. PriceSmart has a twelve month low of $61.82 and a twelve month high of $86.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.20. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $81.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.68. The firm has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03 and a beta of 0.92.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 10th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 11.85%. PriceSmart’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. Research analysts forecast that PriceSmart will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a None dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.08, for a total transaction of $85,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $697,643.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 18.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PriceSmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,319,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,533,000 after acquiring an additional 141,920 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in PriceSmart by 6.1% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,592,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,281,000 after purchasing an additional 148,758 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,261,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,631,000 after buying an additional 60,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in PriceSmart by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 998,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,939,000 after buying an additional 6,772 shares during the period. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.