PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.07 EPS

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.07, Briefing.com reports. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 2.62%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of PSMT stock opened at $80.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. PriceSmart has a twelve month low of $61.82 and a twelve month high of $86.90. The company has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.59.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PSMT shares. TheStreet raised PriceSmart from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PriceSmart

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PSMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in PriceSmart by 175.0% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 103,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,178,000 after purchasing an additional 65,984 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 1.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 301,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,806,000 after acquiring an additional 4,066 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 43.1% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 2.1% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 22,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,766,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 61.0% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 12,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 4,881 shares during the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.