PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Reaches New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• PriceSmart reached a new 52-week high, trading at $115.02, up from a previous close of $111.00, indicating strong market performance.
• Wall Street Zen upgraded PriceSmart's rating from "hold" to "buy", reflecting analyst optimism about the stock's future prospects.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a 7.1% year-over-year revenue increase, although it missed the consensus earnings estimate by 2 cents.

PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $114.32 and last traded at $115.02, with a volume of 30261 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.95 and a beta of 0.79. 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's 50-day moving average price is $108.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.82.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last released 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). The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 12.46%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that PriceSmart, Inc. 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 on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total value of $58,470.50. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of PriceSmart

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in PriceSmart by 560.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 297 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the second quarter worth $28,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 52.5% during the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 363 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart in the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in PriceSmart during the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. 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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