PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) EVP Paul Kovaleski Sells 1,176 Shares of Stock

PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 1,176 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.72, for a total transaction of $96,102.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,673,314. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of PriceSmart stock opened at $81.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.20. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.82 and a 52-week high of $86.90. The company has a fifty day moving average of $82.00 and a 200-day moving average of $76.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49 and a beta of 0.92.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 10th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.07. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. PriceSmart’s payout ratio is 29.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PSMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut PriceSmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. TheStreet upgraded PriceSmart from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on PriceSmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PriceSmart

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PSMT. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 235.9% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 3,404 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in PriceSmart by 93.1% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of PriceSmart by 0.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 94,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,060,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 18.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the third quarter worth about $4,778,000. 80.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.