Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Stock Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $34.34 and traded as high as $35.80. Saul Centers shares last traded at $35.3730, with a volume of 89,227 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saul Centers in a report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Saul Centers Trading Up 1.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.54, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market cap of $875.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.66 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $36.09 and its 200-day moving average is $34.35.

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. The firm had revenue of $74.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.11 million. Saul Centers had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 12.43%.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Saul Centers news, COO David Todd Pearson purchased 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $34.74 per share, with a total value of $90,324.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 79,321 shares in the company, valued at $2,755,611.54. This represents a 3.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 51.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Saul Centers

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in Saul Centers by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 740,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,332,000 after purchasing an additional 50,767 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Saul Centers by 0.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 202,245 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,589,000 after purchasing an additional 1,388 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Saul Centers by 543.6% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 189,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,050,000 after purchasing an additional 160,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 166,070 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,236,000 after purchasing an additional 6,670 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.99% of the company’s stock.

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.