PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of PriceSmart in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

Shares of PriceSmart stock opened at $123.15 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $116.24 and a 200 day moving average of $108.58. PriceSmart has a 12 month low of $81.25 and a 12 month high of $125.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.98 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.82, for a total value of $67,551.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 80,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,892,905.36. This trade represents a 0.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael Mccleary sold 9,754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.62, for a total transaction of $1,078,987.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,082 shares in the company, valued at $5,208,210.84. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PriceSmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PSMT. Pertento Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,224,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the 1st quarter worth about $36,685,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 54.7% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 551,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,936,000 after acquiring an additional 194,980 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $21,915,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the 2nd quarter worth about $18,313,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.