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

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

PriceSmart Stock Performance

NASDAQ PSMT opened at $85.79 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90 and a beta of 0.87. PriceSmart has a twelve month low of $77.51 and a twelve month high of $99.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $87.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.94.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at PriceSmart

In related news, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 1,107 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.22, for a total transaction of $96,552.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,862 shares in the company, valued at $598,503.64. The trade was a 13.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Mccleary sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 58,141 shares in the company, valued at $5,213,503.47. This represents a 6.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,162 shares of company stock worth $1,930,402. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.