Comerica Bank Purchases 6,817 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its stake in PriceSmart, Inc. by 59.0%, owning 18,370 shares valued at approximately $1.6 million after purchasing an additional 6,817 shares during Q1.
• PriceSmart reported $1.14 earnings per share, which missed analysts' estimates of $1.16, but achieved a revenue of $1.32 billion, slightly above expectations.
• Wall Street analysts downgraded PriceSmart from a "buy" to a "hold" rating following a recent earnings announcement.

Comerica Bank boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 59.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,370 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,817 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned 0.06% of PriceSmart worth $1,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PSMT. 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 buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in PriceSmart by 19.3% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 853 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC raised its holdings in PriceSmart by 6.7% during the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in PriceSmart by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised 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 buying an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company's stock.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

Shares of PriceSmart stock traded down $1.83 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $110.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 36,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 231,904. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $108.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.68. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23 and a beta of 0.79. PriceSmart, Inc. has a one year low of $81.25 and a one year high of $114.01.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at PriceSmart

In other news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

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.