Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Invests $2.26 Million in PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. invested approximately $2.26 million in PriceSmart, acquiring 21,528 shares during the second quarter of the year.
• Analysts at Wall Street Zen upgraded PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating on September 5th, indicating positive sentiment towards the stock.
• PriceSmart's recent earnings report showed a 7.1% increase in revenue year-over-year, though it missed EPS estimates by $0.02, reporting $1.14 EPS against expectations of $1.16.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 21,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,261,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.07% of PriceSmart as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 560.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 297 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the 1st quarter worth $42,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the 1st quarter worth $49,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 119.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 635 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 24.3% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 654 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of PriceSmart stock opened at $117.00 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $110.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.93. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.25 and a 52 week high of $120.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.68 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.46% and a net margin of 2.82%.The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In other news, EVP Michael Mccleary sold 9,754 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.62, for a total transaction of $1,078,987.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,082 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,208,210.84. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,282,399.48. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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