Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires 5,163 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. by 20.5%, owning 30,314 shares valued at approximately $2.66 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• PriceSmart's stock received a rating upgrade from "hold" to "buy" by Wall Street Zen, indicating increased optimism about the company’s future performance.
• In its recent quarterly earnings report, PriceSmart reported earnings per share of $1.14, slightly missing the analyst expectations of $1.16, despite showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 7.1%.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 20.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,314 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,163 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.10% of PriceSmart worth $2,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of PriceSmart by 536.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 312 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position 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 buying an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company's stock.

PriceSmart Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ PSMT traded up $0.6350 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $112.8850. 34,190 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 236,619. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.82 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $107.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.87. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.25 and a fifty-two week high of $114.01.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In other news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total value of $58,470.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 77,908 shares in the company, valued at $8,282,399.48. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 17.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PriceSmart 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.