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

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $31.90 and traded as high as $32.98. Saul Centers shares last traded at $32.6580, with a volume of 34,312 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Saul Centers in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Saul Centers Stock Down 0.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.48, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.90. The company has a market capitalization of $800.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.96 and a beta of 0.99.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $71.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.15 million. Saul Centers had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 12.48%. Sell-side analysts predict that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. Saul Centers’s payout ratio is presently 216.51%.

Institutional Trading of Saul Centers

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 1,011.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,101 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 1,912 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Saul Centers by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 166,070 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,236,000 after buying an additional 6,670 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in Saul Centers in the 4th quarter valued at about $289,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in Saul Centers during the 4th quarter valued at about $450,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Saul Centers during the 4th quarter valued at about $228,000. 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.