Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.10 EPS

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $72.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.98 million. Saul Centers had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 12.44%.

Saul Centers Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of BFS stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Thursday, reaching $33.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 126,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 83,899. Saul Centers has a 1-year low of $29.16 and a 1-year high of $38.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $36.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.53. The company has a market capitalization of $828.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.84 and a beta of 0.91. 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 222.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saul Centers in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Saul Centers news, COO David Todd Pearson purchased 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,755,611.54. The trade was a 3.39% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 51.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BFS. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Saul Centers in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Saul Centers during the first quarter worth about $76,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the third quarter worth approximately $82,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the first quarter worth approximately $118,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Saul Centers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $135,000. 49.99% of the stock is currently 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.