PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Upgraded at 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 report issued on Saturday.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of PSMT stock traded up $0.06 on Friday, reaching $106.61. 91,589 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 199,479. The company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.78 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $104.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.25. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that PriceSmart will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In related news, Director Leon C. Janks 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 $101.78, for a total transaction of $305,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 33,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,433,446.52. This represents a 8.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 896 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.85, for a total transaction of $90,361.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,340,483.15. This represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,836 shares of company stock valued at $1,005,273. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of PriceSmart

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in PriceSmart by 522.5% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 113,268 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,951,000 after acquiring an additional 95,073 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in PriceSmart by 7,364.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 69,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,066,000 after acquiring an additional 68,125 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in PriceSmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $591,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in PriceSmart by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 22,007 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,028,000 after acquiring an additional 7,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,430,000 after buying an additional 2,868 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.