Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday.

Saul Centers Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of BFS traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $36.76. The stock had a trading volume of 64,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 46,735. The company has a market cap of $888.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98 and a beta of 1.11. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $37.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.20. Saul Centers has a 1-year low of $34.98 and a 1-year 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.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.31. The company 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Saul Centers will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

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Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. Saul Centers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 128.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saul Centers

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFS. 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 valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 1,237 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Saul Centers by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Saul Centers in the fourth quarter valued at $105,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the fourth quarter worth about $179,000. 49.99% of the stock is currently 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.