Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Saul Centers Trading Up 0.5 %

Saul Centers stock traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $37.23. The stock had a trading volume of 68,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,984. Saul Centers has a 52 week low of $34.98 and a 52 week high of $42.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.11. The stock has a market cap of $900.98 million, a PE ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 1.08.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $67.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.94 million. Saul Centers had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 20.84%. Analysts forecast that Saul Centers will post 3.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Remove Ads

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, 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 6.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Saul Centers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.79%.

Institutional Trading of Saul Centers

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 1,249.5% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,336 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Saul Centers by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Saul Centers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $105,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its position in Saul Centers by 31.2% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,648 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the period. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Saul Centers during the 4th quarter valued at about $179,000. 49.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Saul Centers Company Profile

Saul Centers is a self-managed, self-administered equity REIT headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Saul Centers currently operates and manages a real estate portfolio comprised of 61 properties that includes (a) 57 community and neighborhood Shopping Centers and Mixed-Use properties with approximately 9.8 million square feet of leasable area and (b) four land and development properties.