What Does Wall Street See for PriceSmart's Q1?

PriceSmart (NAS: PSMT) is expected to report Q1 earnings on Jan. 9. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict PriceSmart's revenues will expand 15.1% and EPS will expand 29.8%.

The average estimate for revenue is $539.1 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.61.

Revenue details
Last quarter, PriceSmart tallied revenue of $515.5 million. GAAP reported sales were 15% higher than the prior-year quarter's $447.4 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, EPS came in at $0.58. GAAP EPS of $0.58 for Q4 were 38% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.42 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 16.7%, 70 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 5.4%, 140 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 3.4%, 60 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $2.34 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.73.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 495 members out of 512 rating the stock outperform, and 17 members rating it underperform. Among 128 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 120 give PriceSmart a green thumbs-up, and eight give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on PriceSmart is hold, with an average price target of $79.75.

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The article What Does Wall Street See for PriceSmart's Q1? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. TMFDisclosureHere

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