Empirical Finance LLC Takes $2.06 Million Position in PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Empirical Finance LLC purchased a new position in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 19,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,000. Empirical Finance LLC owned about 0.06% of PriceSmart at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 560.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in PriceSmart in the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PSMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of PriceSmart in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

Shares of PriceSmart stock opened at $116.05 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.30. The company has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.48 and a beta of 0.84. PriceSmart, Inc. has a one year low of $81.25 and a one year high of $125.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.28.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.08). PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.46% and a net margin of 2.82%.The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 1,305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.55, for a total value of $149,487.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,938,135.95. This represents a 2.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.82, for a total value of $67,551.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 80,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,892,905.36. The trade was a 0.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 22,460 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,968 over the last 90 days. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.