Foster & Motley Inc. Acquires Shares of 7,550 PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Key Points

• Foster & Motley initiated a PriceSmart position by purchasing 7,550 shares valued at approximately $1.48 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.46% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook, with PriceSmart holding a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $198, despite one ratings downgrade.
• PriceSmart’s latest quarterly revenue rose 12.5% year over year to $1.48 billion, exceeding estimates, while EPS of $1.28 fell short of the $1.32 consensus forecast. Insiders sold $1.51 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Foster & Motley Inc. bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 7,550 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,475,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the second quarter valued at approximately $814,722,000. State Street Corp raised its position in PriceSmart by 2.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,045,998 shares of the company's stock worth $109,872,000 after acquiring an additional 24,512 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in PriceSmart by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 763,261 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,640,000 after acquiring an additional 7,095 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in PriceSmart by 13.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 624,985 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,742,000 after acquiring an additional 73,419 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 495,799 shares of the company's stock worth $60,820,000 after purchasing an additional 8,428 shares in the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PSMT shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $198.00 price target on shares of PriceSmart in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of PriceSmart from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, PriceSmart currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $198.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 338 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.87, for a total value of $60,120.06. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 75,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,397,346.27. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sherry S. Bahrambeygui sold 3,499 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.38, for a total transaction of $690,632.62. Following the transaction, the director owned 32,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,345,767. This trade represents a 9.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 7,737 shares of company stock worth $1,506,176 over the last 90 days. 17.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

PSMT opened at $175.61 on Thursday. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1-year low of $105.46 and a 1-year high of $199.84. The stock has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.71 and a beta of 0.76. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $186.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 8th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 2.82%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share.

PriceSmart Company Profile

PriceSmart, Inc NASDAQ: PSMT is a U.S.-based retailer specializing in membership warehouse clubs. Founded in 1993, the company operates under a business model that offers bulk quantities of goods at discounted prices to individuals and businesses that purchase annual memberships. PriceSmart's value proposition centers on low-cost operations, high-volume purchasing, and a no-frills shopping environment designed to pass savings directly to its members.

The company's product assortment covers a broad range of merchandise categories, including groceries and fresh produce, household essentials, electronics, appliances, office supplies, furniture, and health and beauty items.

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