AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings 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 boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 10.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,610 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,486 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.22% of PriceSmart worth $6,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in PriceSmart by 124.2% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 668 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of PriceSmart by 665.0% in the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 38,711 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,401,000 after purchasing an additional 33,651 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $450,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of PriceSmart by 26.3% in the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PriceSmart Price Performance

PSMT stock opened at $114.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a PE ratio of 24.17 and a beta of 0.79. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.25 and a 1 year high of $120.99.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.02). PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 12.46%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total value of $58,470.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 77,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,282,399.48. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael Mccleary sold 9,754 shares of the company's 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 transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research 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.

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