Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

by · The Cerbat Gem

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS – Get Free Report) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $32.68 and traded as high as $34.69. Saul Centers shares last traded at $34.4090, with a volume of 51,309 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Read Our Latest Research Report on BFS

Saul Centers Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.68. 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 stock has a market cap of $844.40 million, a PE ratio of 32.46 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 222.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saul Centers

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Saul Centers by 3.0% in 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. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its position 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 valued at $42,744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339,172 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Saul Centers by 7.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 50,767 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Saul Centers by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 202,245 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,589,000 after acquiring an additional 1,388 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Saul Centers by 543.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 189,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,050,000 after acquiring an additional 160,335 shares during the period. 49.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Saul Centers

(Get Free Report)

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.

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