Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $33.40 and traded as high as $36.19. Saul Centers shares last traded at $36.01, with a volume of 165,813 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Saul Centers Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.54. The company has a market capitalization of $883.69 million, a PE ratio of 33.97 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.40.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO David Todd Pearson bought 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $34.74 per share, for a total transaction of $90,324.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer directly 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 51.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Saul Centers in the second quarter worth $27,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 82.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Saul Centers in the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Saul Centers by 450.6% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,795 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,469 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.99% of the company’s stock.

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.