Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)’s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $34.62 and traded as high as $35.08. Saul Centers shares last traded at $34.9610, with a volume of 106,790 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saul Centers in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Saul Centers presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Saul Centers Stock Down 0.6%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $36.00 and a 200 day moving average of $34.62. The stock has a market cap of $859.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.87 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $72.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.98 million. Saul Centers had a net margin of 11.54% and a return on equity of 11.97%.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th were paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. Saul Centers’s payout ratio is presently 243.30%.

Insider Activity

In other Saul Centers news, COO David Todd Pearson acquired 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $34.74 per share, for a total transaction of $90,324.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 79,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,755,611.54. This trade represents a 3.39% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 51.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saul Centers

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the 2nd quarter worth about $84,302,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,966,888 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $62,016,000 after acquiring an additional 56,758 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 740,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $23,332,000 after acquiring an additional 50,767 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 202,245 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,589,000 after acquiring an additional 1,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Saul Centers by 543.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 189,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,050,000 after purchasing an additional 160,335 shares during the last quarter. 49.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Saul Centers Company Profile

Saul Centers, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in the ownership, development and management of retail properties. The company’s portfolio is focused on grocery-anchored and necessity-based shopping centers, providing stable, long-term cash flows through leasing arrangements with national and regional retailers. In addition to ground-up development, Saul Centers actively pursues redevelopment and adaptive reuse projects to enhance value in existing assets.

Founded by the Saul family in 1945, Saul Centers has grown from a local real estate development firm into a listed REIT while maintaining its headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland.