Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Has $14.93 Million Position in PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. has significantly increased its stake in PriceSmart, Inc. by 353.9% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 132,502 shares to own a total of 169,943 shares valued at approximately $14.9 million.
• Institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC and Harbor Capital Advisors Inc., have also shown strong interest in PriceSmart, with over 80% of the stock now owned by such entities.
• Analysts have upgraded PriceSmart's rating from "hold" to "buy," reflecting positive market sentiment despite the company missing earnings estimates slightly during its latest quarterly report.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 353.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 169,943 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 132,502 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.55% of PriceSmart worth $14,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the first quarter worth $42,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the first quarter worth $49,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 119.7% during the first 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. raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 24.3% during the first 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. Institutional investors own 80.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

PriceSmart Stock Down 3.4%

NASDAQ:PSMT traded down $4.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $114.05. 139,978 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 234,085. PriceSmart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.25 and a twelve month high of $120.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $108.82 and a 200 day moving average of $101.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael Mccleary sold 9,754 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.62, for a total value of $1,078,987.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,208,210.84. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 77,908 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,282,399.48. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About PriceSmart

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.