PFG Investments LLC Takes Position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

PFG Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $408,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 30,300.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 331.4% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 93.1% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares during the period. Finally, CI Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $158,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Price Performance

PSMT stock traded down $1.38 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $80.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 214,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 160,070. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.82 and a 12 month high of $86.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $81.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.18.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 10th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.07. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 2.62%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a None dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. PriceSmart’s payout ratio is 29.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PSMT shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on PriceSmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com downgraded PriceSmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded PriceSmart from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.92, for a total transaction of $491,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 140,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,508,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 937 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $74,828.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,404.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.92, for a total value of $491,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 140,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,508,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,713 shares of company stock worth $1,202,939 in the last three months. 18.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About PriceSmart

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.