Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 165.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,542 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,072 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $1,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the third quarter worth about $47,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 331.4% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PriceSmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $158,000. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in PriceSmart during the third quarter worth $268,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in PriceSmart in the fourth quarter valued at $272,000. 80.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PriceSmart Stock Up 1.2 %

PSMT opened at $85.76 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 21.55 and a beta of 0.92. PriceSmart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.82 and a twelve month high of $86.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $82.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 10th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. TheStreet upgraded PriceSmart from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on PriceSmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered PriceSmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 13th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 8,822 shares in the company, valued at $697,643.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other PriceSmart news, Director Sherry S. Bahrambeygui sold 1,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.03, for a total value of $130,274.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 91,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,617,006.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of the business’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 transaction, 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 sold 17,458 shares of company stock worth $1,429,315 over the last three months. Insiders own 18.60% of the company’s stock.

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.