PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Rating Increased to Buy at 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.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

PriceSmart Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of PriceSmart stock opened at $109.97 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20 and a beta of 0.79. PriceSmart has a twelve month low of $81.25 and a twelve month high of $114.01. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $108.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 12.46%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total value of $58,470.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 77,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,282,399.48. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of PriceSmart

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in PriceSmart by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,401,706 shares of the company's stock valued at $147,236,000 after acquiring an additional 100,785 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in PriceSmart by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,045,998 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,872,000 after acquiring an additional 24,512 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 782,353 shares of the company's stock worth $68,730,000 after buying an additional 160,656 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 740,720 shares of the company's stock worth $77,812,000 after buying an additional 13,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 54.7% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 551,566 shares of the company's stock worth $57,936,000 after buying an additional 194,980 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.

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