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

Key Points

• PriceSmart has been upgraded from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating increased confidence from analysts.
• The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for its latest quarter, slightly missing expectations but achieving a 7.1% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Insider Frances Velasco sold 550 shares of PriceSmart, reducing his ownership to approximately 77,908 shares, while institutional investors currently own 80.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday.

PriceSmart Trading Up 6.4%

Shares of PriceSmart stock traded up $7.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $118.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 451,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 182,697. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.50. PriceSmart has a 52 week low of $81.25 and a 52 week high of $120.99. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.92 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $108.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.01.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.02). PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.46% and a net margin of 2.82%.The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that PriceSmart will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PriceSmart news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total transaction of $58,470.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 77,908 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,282,399.48. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PriceSmart

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in PriceSmart by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 946 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its position in PriceSmart by 1.8% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 5,600 shares of the company's stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 13.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 888 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in PriceSmart by 1.2% in the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 2,393 shares of the company's stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. 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.