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

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) passed 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 trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Saul Centers Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.68. 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 company has a market cap of $844.40 million, a PE ratio of 32.46 and a beta of 0.93.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $74.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 222.64%.

Institutional Trading of Saul Centers

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 82.9% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. 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.