PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $108.54 and last traded at $106.63, with a volume of 174116 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $107.10.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

PriceSmart Trading Up 1.6%

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $97.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.61.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In other news, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.21, for a total value of $306,630.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,329,854.31. This represents a 18.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 390 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.78, for a total transaction of $40,084.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,279 shares in the company, valued at $953,695.62. This represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,836 shares of company stock valued at $1,005,273. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of PriceSmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strs Ohio bought a new position in PriceSmart in the 1st quarter worth about $395,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 560.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 297 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 18,673 shares of the company's stock worth $1,640,000 after purchasing an additional 4,806 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 70,642 shares of the company's stock worth $6,206,000 after purchasing an additional 7,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in PriceSmart in the 1st quarter worth about $987,000. 80.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.