Invesco Ltd. Acquires 69,248 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in PriceSmart, Inc. by 24.1%, owning approximately 1.16% of the company valued at $31.3 million following the purchase of an additional 69,248 shares in Q1.
• PriceSmart's stock performance showed a quarterly revenue increase of 7.1% year-over-year, reaching $1.32 billion, despite missing EPS estimates.
• Wall Street analysts upgraded PriceSmart from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, reflecting positive sentiment about the company's prospects.

Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 24.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 356,586 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 69,248 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 1.16% of PriceSmart worth $31,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PSMT. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,383 shares of the company's stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $591,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 536.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 312 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 10.2% during the 4th 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, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in PriceSmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,305,698 shares of the company's stock worth $120,345,000 after buying an additional 5,947 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.46% of the company's stock.

PriceSmart Price Performance

PSMT traded up $3.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $110.74. The stock had a trading volume of 235,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 186,797. The company has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.36 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $107.35 and a 200 day moving average of $99.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.28. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.25 and a 1 year high of $114.01.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered PriceSmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PriceSmart news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of PriceSmart 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 of the company's stock, valued at $8,282,399.48. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 17.10% of the stock is owned by company 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.