PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.06 EPS

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.06), Zacks reports. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis.

PriceSmart Stock Up 4.5 %

PriceSmart stock traded up $3.67 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $85.79. The company had a trading volume of 365,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 182,010. PriceSmart has a fifty-two week low of $77.51 and a fifty-two week high of $99.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $88.17 and its 200-day moving average is $89.99.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In related news, CFO Michael Mccleary sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.67, for a total value of $358,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 58,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,213,503.47. The trade was a 6.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 1,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.22, for a total transaction of $96,552.54. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $598,503.64. The trade was a 13.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,162 shares of company stock valued at $1,930,402 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

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.