PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• PriceSmart has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a cautious outlook for the stock moving forward.
• Despite the downgrade, PriceSmart's stock price saw a 3.0% increase on the day it was announced, opening at $110.74.
• The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.14 for the last quarter, missing estimates slightly, while revenue increased by 7.1% year-over-year to $1.32 billion.

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

PriceSmart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PSMT traded down $1.54 on Friday, hitting $108.06. 221,878 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 182,815. The company's 50 day moving average price is $107.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.69. PriceSmart has a one year low of $81.25 and a one year high of $114.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80 and a beta of 0.77.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that PriceSmart will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total transaction of $58,470.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 77,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,282,399.48. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 13,329 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,400,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 98.3% during the 2nd quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 22,273 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,369,000 after acquiring an additional 11,039 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 84,898 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,918,000 after acquiring an additional 6,207 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 28,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,959,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 253.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,264 shares of the company's stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623 shares in the last quarter. 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.