Jefferies Financial Group Boosts PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Price Target to $90.00

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) had its target price upped by Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $90.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PriceSmart from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Saturday, April 13th. TheStreet raised PriceSmart from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th.

PriceSmart Trading Up 3.0 %

PriceSmart stock opened at $82.85 on Wednesday. PriceSmart has a 12-month low of $61.82 and a 12-month high of $86.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of 20.82 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.82.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 10th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.07. 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 the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PriceSmart will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.08, for a total transaction of $85,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $697,643.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other PriceSmart news, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 937 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $74,828.82. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $636,404.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.08, for a total transaction of $85,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $697,643.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 18.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PriceSmart

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 4.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,177,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,489,000 after buying an additional 133,814 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al lifted its position in PriceSmart by 43.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al now owns 63,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,749,000 after acquiring an additional 19,311 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in PriceSmart by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 41,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,102,000 after acquiring an additional 18,249 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 114.4% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 492,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,692,000 after purchasing an additional 263,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in PriceSmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,778,000. 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.