Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Acquires 132,502 Shares of 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. raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 353.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 169,943 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 132,502 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.55% of PriceSmart worth $14,929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in PriceSmart by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 131,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,525,000 after purchasing an additional 3,003 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in PriceSmart by 68.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,759 shares of the company's stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in PriceSmart by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 10,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in PriceSmart by 522.5% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 113,268 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,951,000 after purchasing an additional 95,073 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in PriceSmart by 7,364.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 69,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,066,000 after purchasing an additional 68,125 shares during the period. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In related news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total transaction of $58,470.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 77,908 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,282,399.48. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

PriceSmart Trading Up 7.0%

Shares of PSMT stock traded up $7.80 on Thursday, reaching $118.80. The company had a trading volume of 233,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,155. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 24.99 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $108.59 and a 200-day moving average of $100.82. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.25 and a 12 month high of $120.99.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.