New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. by 914.7% in the first quarter, now owning 53,900 shares valued at approximately $4.7 million.
• Other significant institutional investors, including Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, made substantial increases in their positions, with Canada Pension increasing its stake by a staggering 70,410% in the fourth quarter.
• PriceSmart's stock has seen a recent upgrade from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen, coinciding with the company's latest quarterly earnings report showing a 7.1% increase in revenue year-over-year.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 914.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,900 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 48,588 shares during the quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC owned about 0.18% of PriceSmart worth $4,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 2.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 131,194 shares of the company's stock worth $11,525,000 after buying an additional 3,003 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 68.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,759 shares of the company's stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 1,928 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 19.3% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 10,785 shares of the company's stock worth $947,000 after buying an additional 1,742 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 522.5% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 113,268 shares of the company's stock worth $9,951,000 after buying an additional 95,073 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 7,364.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 69,050 shares of the company's stock worth $6,066,000 after buying an additional 68,125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In other news, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.21, for a total value of $306,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,329,854.31. This trade represents a 18.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $58,470.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,940 shares of company stock worth $918,525. 17.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PriceSmart Trading Up 0.5%

PSMT stock traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $111.88. 134,929 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 235,789. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.93. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.13 and a 12-month high of $113.59.

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

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.