Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $34.15 and traded as high as $36.33. Saul Centers shares last traded at $35.5440, with a volume of 97,097 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Saul Centers Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $35.82 and its 200-day moving average is $34.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.54. The stock has a market cap of $872.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.53 and a beta of 0.90.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.13. Saul Centers had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 12.44%. The firm had revenue of $74.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.11 million.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 222.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Saul Centers

In other Saul Centers news, COO David Todd Pearson purchased 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, with a total value of $90,324.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 79,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,755,611.54. This trade represents a 3.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 51.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 11.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,036 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 26,345 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $858,000 after buying an additional 1,982 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new position in Saul Centers during the 1st quarter worth approximately $202,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Saul Centers by 50.2% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 43,635 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,422,000 after acquiring an additional 14,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Saul Centers by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 32,855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares during the period. 49.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.