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

Shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $32.00 and traded as high as $32.20. Saul Centers shares last traded at $32.1560, with a volume of 123,608 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Saul Centers in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Saul Centers currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Saul Centers Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $784.93 million, a PE ratio of 27.72 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.29.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $72.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.74 million. Saul Centers had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 13.83%. Research analysts forecast that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.3%. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 203.45%.

Insider Activity

In other Saul Centers news, VP John Collich acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $29.99 per share, with a total value of $59,980.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president directly owned 49,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,477,307.40. The trade was a 4.23% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO David Todd Pearson acquired 3,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $29.86 per share, for a total transaction of $99,971.28. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 50,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,509,930.62. This trade represents a 7.09% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 6,548 shares of company stock valued at $184,769. 56.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 118.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 125,345 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,995,000 after acquiring an additional 68,018 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in Saul Centers by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 81,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Saul Centers during the 3rd quarter valued at about $509,000. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its position in Saul Centers by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 29,672 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Saul Centers by 543.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 160,335 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.