PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) COO Sells $53,592.00 in Stock

PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.40, for a total transaction of $53,592.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,279.20. The trade was a 40.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PSMT opened at $90.97 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $91.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04 and a beta of 0.86. PriceSmart, Inc. has a one year low of $74.74 and a one year high of $99.23.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PriceSmart

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in PriceSmart by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 128,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,815,000 after buying an additional 2,831 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in PriceSmart by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 23,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,844 shares during the last quarter. James Investment Research Inc. increased its holdings in PriceSmart by 123.1% during the 4th quarter. James Investment Research Inc. now owns 6,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 3,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in PriceSmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $280,000. 80.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.