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

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)’s stock price passed 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 changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed 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, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Saul Centers Stock Down 1.2%

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.34. The company has a market cap of $868.05 million, a PE ratio of 33.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.54, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

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

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 222.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saul Centers

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Saul Centers by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,036 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Saul Centers by 8.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 26,345 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $858,000 after acquiring an additional 1,982 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new position in Saul Centers during the first quarter valued at $202,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Saul Centers by 50.2% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 43,635 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,422,000 after purchasing an additional 14,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Saul Centers by 5.3% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 32,855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659 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.