PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

PriceSmart Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of PriceSmart stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $106.61. The stock had a trading volume of 91,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 199,817. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.78 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. PriceSmart has a 1 year low of $77.65 and a 1 year high of $109.84.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 12.40% and a net margin of 2.81%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PriceSmart will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.74, for a total value of $54,857.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 78,458 shares in the company, valued at $7,825,400.92. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 390 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.78, for a total value of $40,084.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $953,695.62. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,836 shares of company stock worth $1,005,273. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PriceSmart

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in PriceSmart by 522.5% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 113,268 shares of the company's stock worth $9,951,000 after buying an additional 95,073 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in PriceSmart by 7,364.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 69,050 shares of the company's stock worth $6,066,000 after buying an additional 68,125 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in PriceSmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $591,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in PriceSmart by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 22,007 shares of the company's stock worth $2,028,000 after buying an additional 7,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in PriceSmart by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,276 shares of the company's stock worth $1,430,000 after buying an additional 2,868 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% 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.