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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

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

Saul Centers Stock Performance

Shares of Saul Centers stock opened at $40.98 on Wednesday. Saul Centers has a one year low of $34.87 and a one year high of $42.39. The company has a market cap of $990.49 million, a PE ratio of 22.27 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.94.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.76%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 128.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saul Centers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Saul Centers by 10.2% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 228,474 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,401,000 after purchasing an additional 21,100 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 2.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 209,840 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,715,000 after acquiring an additional 5,330 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Saul Centers in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,272,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 115.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 59,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,194,000 after acquiring an additional 31,919 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 17.1% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 43,083 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 6,301 shares during the period. 49.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Saul Centers

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.