PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.07 EPS

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.07, Briefing.com reports. 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 the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

PriceSmart Stock Down 0.6 %

PriceSmart stock opened at $80.07 on Friday. PriceSmart has a 52 week low of $61.82 and a 52 week high of $86.90. The firm has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PriceSmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 175.0% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 103,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,178,000 after purchasing an additional 65,984 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in PriceSmart by 1.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 301,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,806,000 after buying an additional 4,066 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 43.1% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 22,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,766,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of PriceSmart by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 12,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 4,881 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PSMT. TheStreet raised PriceSmart from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th.

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.