Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.59

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.59 per share by the real estate investment trust on Friday, July 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th.

Saul Centers has increased its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years. Saul Centers has a dividend payout ratio of 181.5% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments.

Saul Centers Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of BFS stock opened at $36.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.54, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. Saul Centers has a 1 year low of $29.16 and a 1 year high of $38.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $883.69 million, a PE ratio of 33.97 and a beta of 0.92.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company 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%.

Insider Activity at Saul Centers

In related news, COO David Todd Pearson acquired 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $34.74 per share, for a total transaction of $90,324.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 79,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,755,611.54. The trade was a 3.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 51.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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 company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Saul Centers by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,966,888 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $62,016,000 after purchasing an additional 56,758 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 740,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,332,000 after buying an additional 50,767 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 0.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 202,245 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,589,000 after buying an additional 1,388 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 543.6% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 189,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,050,000 after buying an additional 160,335 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Saul Centers by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 166,070 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,236,000 after buying an additional 6,670 shares in the last quarter. 49.99% of the stock is owned by 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.