Raymond James Financial Inc. Raises Position in PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. dramatically increased its stake in PriceSmart, Inc. by 794.2%, acquiring a total of 57,343 shares worth approximately $5,038,000.
• The company experienced a minor earnings miss, reporting $1.14 EPS compared to the expected $1.16 EPS, although its revenue increased by 7.1% year-over-year.
• Wall Street analysts downgraded PriceSmart's rating from "buy" to "hold" on August 22nd, reflecting a cautious outlook on the stock's performance.

Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 794.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,343 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 50,930 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of PriceSmart worth $5,038,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PSMT. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in PriceSmart by 5.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,300,921 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,286,000 after purchasing an additional 70,225 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of PriceSmart by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 782,353 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,730,000 after buying an additional 160,656 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of PriceSmart by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 456,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,140,000 after buying an additional 3,039 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in PriceSmart during the 1st quarter worth $36,685,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in PriceSmart by 24.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 356,586 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,326,000 after acquiring an additional 69,248 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.46% of the company's stock.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

PSMT traded up $0.21 on Wednesday, hitting $111.00. 307,829 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 174,620. 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 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 $114.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42 and a beta of 0.79.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. PriceSmart's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $8,282,399.48. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 17.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report 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.