PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $126.72 and last traded at $125.8750, with a volume of 5914 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $125.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of PriceSmart in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.25 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $120.28 and its 200-day moving average is $112.55.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.08). PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 2.81%.The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In other PriceSmart news, EVP Michael Mccleary sold 9,754 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.62, for a total transaction of $1,078,987.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,208,210.84. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.10, for a total value of $1,151,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 115,615 shares in the company, valued at $13,307,286.50. This trade represents a 7.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 22,460 shares of company stock worth $2,546,968 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PriceSmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the second quarter worth $28,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the third quarter worth $30,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in PriceSmart in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

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.