PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PSMT opened at $94.65 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85 and a beta of 0.85. PriceSmart has a 52 week low of $77.51 and a 52 week high of $99.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $92.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 1.26.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.22). PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that PriceSmart will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.55%.

Insider Activity

In other PriceSmart news, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 8,020 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.51, for a total transaction of $725,890.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 123,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,182,238.97. The trade was a 6.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 3,235 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.96, for a total value of $291,020.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,309 shares in the company, valued at $3,986,037.64. The trade was a 6.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 22,497 shares of company stock worth $2,040,918. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PriceSmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PSMT. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its position in PriceSmart by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 3,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in PriceSmart by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.