LSV Asset Management Takes $1.33 Million Position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 17,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,328,000. LSV Asset Management owned 0.06% of PriceSmart at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart in the third quarter worth $47,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 331.4% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $158,000. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the third quarter worth about $268,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $272,000. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PriceSmart Trading Down 0.6 %

PriceSmart stock traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $84.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 81,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 155,911. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $82.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.66. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.82 and a 12 month high of $86.90. The stock has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 10th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.07. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 2.62%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. PriceSmart's quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. PriceSmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PSMT. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of PriceSmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com cut PriceSmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 13th. Finally, TheStreet raised PriceSmart from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In related news, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.08, for a total value of $85,011.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at $697,643.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.08, for a total value of $85,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at $697,643.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.92, for a total transaction of $491,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 140,485 shares in the company, valued at $11,508,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,458 shares of company stock valued at $1,598,435 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 18.60% of the company's stock.

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.