AQR Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in PriceSmart, Inc. by 10.4%, owning 68,610 shares valued at $6,027,000 after acquiring an additional 6,486 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have significantly raised their stakes in PriceSmart, with 80.46% of the stock now held by hedge funds and other institutions.
• PriceSmart reported an EPS of $1.14 for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations by $0.02, while its revenue rose 7.1% year-over-year to $1.32 billion.

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 10.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 68,610 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,486 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.22% of PriceSmart worth $6,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in PriceSmart during the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in PriceSmart during the first quarter valued at about $49,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in PriceSmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in PriceSmart by 24.3% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 654 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.46% of the company's stock.

PriceSmart Stock Up 0.5%

PriceSmart stock traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $117.42. 179,303 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 208,844. The business has a fifty day moving average of $110.06 and a 200 day moving average of $101.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.77 and a beta of 0.79. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.25 and a 12-month high of $120.99.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th.

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.