Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Sets New 1-Year High at $41.80

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $41.80 and last traded at $41.48, with a volume of 3813 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, B. Riley increased their price target on Saul Centers from $43.50 to $45.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd.

Saul Centers Trading Down 1.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $995.49 million, a P/E ratio of 23.99 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.96.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.29). Saul Centers had a net margin of 20.49% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The firm had revenue of $66.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.54 million. Equities research analysts expect that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.69%. Saul Centers’s payout ratio is 136.42%.

Institutional Trading of Saul Centers

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Saul Centers in the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Saul Centers in the second quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 235.4% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,262 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Saul Centers during the first quarter worth approximately $224,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Saul Centers in the 2nd quarter worth $228,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.99% of the company’s stock.

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.