Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $37.19 and last traded at $37.0150, with a volume of 11195 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saul Centers in a report on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Saul Centers Stock Up 0.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.54, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $34.11 and its 200 day moving average is $33.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $899.76 million, a PE ratio of 34.59 and a beta of 0.92.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.13. Saul Centers had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 12.44%. The business had revenue of $74.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.11 million.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th were given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Saul Centers’s payout ratio is currently 222.64%.

Insider Activity at Saul Centers

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 shares were acquired at an average cost of $34.74 per share, for a total transaction of $90,324.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 79,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,755,611.54. This represents a 3.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 51.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saul Centers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Saul Centers by 118.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 125,345 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,995,000 after purchasing an additional 68,018 shares in the last quarter. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 55.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,560 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 20,803 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the 4th quarter worth about $614,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $62,016,000 after purchasing an additional 56,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 106.4% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 48,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,526,000 after purchasing an additional 24,952 shares during the last quarter. 49.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.