Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $32.68 and traded as high as $34.69. Saul Centers shares last traded at $34.4090, with a volume of 51,309 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saul Centers in a report on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Saul Centers currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Saul Centers Price Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.72. The stock has a market cap of $851.89 million, a PE ratio of 32.75 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.54, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $74.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.11 million. Saul Centers had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 12.43%.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 222.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFS. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Saul Centers in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Saul Centers by 48.8% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Saul Centers by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Saul Centers by 82.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saul Centers in the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. 49.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Saul Centers

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.