PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Hits New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $109.19 and last traded at $107.40, with a volume of 278602 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $107.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 31st.

PriceSmart Trading Up 1.3%

The company's fifty day moving average is $99.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.27. The stock has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.83 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.06). PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.74, for a total transaction of $54,857.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,825,400.92. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.21, for a total transaction of $306,630.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,329,854.31. This trade represents a 18.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,836 shares of company stock valued at $1,005,273. 17.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PriceSmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in PriceSmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,305,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,345,000 after buying an additional 5,947 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in PriceSmart by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,300,921 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,286,000 after buying an additional 70,225 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in PriceSmart by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,204,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,025,000 after buying an additional 21,827 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 692,864 shares of the company's stock worth $63,874,000 after purchasing an additional 7,994 shares in the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About PriceSmart

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.