Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.12 EPS

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) announced its earnings results on Friday. The real estate investment trust reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.12), Zacks reports. Saul Centers had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 13.83%.The business had revenue of $71.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.15 million.

Saul Centers Price Performance

BFS traded down $0.29 on Friday, hitting $33.86. 226,605 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 67,891. Saul Centers has a fifty-two week low of $29.16 and a fifty-two week high of $37.88. The stock has a market cap of $826.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.19 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.29.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th were paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 15th. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 203.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Saul Centers in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saul Centers

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Saul Centers by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 13,027 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Saul Centers by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,742 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Saul Centers by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 14,860 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Saul Centers by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 13,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Saul Centers by 2.4% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 33,637 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after buying an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.99% of the company’s stock.

Saul Centers Company Profile

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.