John Collich Buys 2,000 Shares of Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Stock

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) VP John Collich purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $29.99 per share, with a total value of $59,980.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 49,260 shares in the company, valued at $1,477,307.40. This trade represents a 4.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Saul Centers Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE BFS opened at $30.21 on Friday. Saul Centers, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.16 and a fifty-two week high of $41.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $737.36 million, a P/E ratio of 22.88 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.16, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.70.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.09. Saul Centers had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 13.79%. The company had revenue of $72.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.74 million. On average, analysts predict that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.8%. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 203.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Saul Centers in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saul Centers

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFS. Man Group plc boosted its stake in Saul Centers by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 142,556 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,543,000 after purchasing an additional 24,500 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 27.2% in the third quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 15,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 3,322 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Saul Centers by 81.0% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 53,792 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,714,000 after buying an additional 24,076 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 32.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 159,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,080,000 after buying an additional 38,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Saul Centers in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $82,000. 49.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.