Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $31.91 and traded as high as $33.67. Saul Centers shares last traded at $33.2330, with a volume of 74,186 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Saul Centers in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Saul Centers Trading Down 0.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.48, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market cap of $814.21 million, a P/E ratio of 30.49 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $33.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.91.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $71.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.15 million. Saul Centers had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 12.94%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.1%. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 216.51%.

Institutional Trading of Saul Centers

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BFS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Saul Centers by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,966,888 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $62,016,000 after purchasing an additional 56,758 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 66,361.3% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 1,341,190 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339,172 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Saul Centers by 7.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 50,767 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Saul Centers by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 322,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,997,000 after purchasing an additional 28,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 200,857 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,333,000 after buying an additional 3,184 shares in the last quarter. 49.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Saul Centers

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.