Nuveen LLC Purchases New Position in PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has made a significant investment of approximately $36.69 million in PriceSmart, acquiring 400,029 shares, which represents about 1.30% of the company's stock.
• Multiple large investors including Invesco Ltd. and Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management have increased their stakes in PriceSmart, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• PriceSmart reported $1.14 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, slightly below analysts' expectations, but showed a 7.1% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 400,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,685,000. Nuveen LLC owned 1.30% of PriceSmart as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in 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 valued at $11,525,000 after buying an additional 3,003 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,742 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 95,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 68,125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.46% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at PriceSmart

In other news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 77,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,282,399.48. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

PriceSmart Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of PSMT traded down $2.77 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $109.48. The company had a trading volume of 204,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 237,784. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.10 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $107.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.25 and a 52-week high of $114.01.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last released 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). The company 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current 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.