Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $31.91 and traded as high as $33.67. Saul Centers shares last traded at $33.2330, with a volume of 74,186 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Saul Centers in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Saul Centers currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Saul Centers Trading Up 0.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $815.36 million, a PE ratio of 30.53 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.92.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $71.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.15 million. Saul Centers had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 12.94%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. Saul Centers’s payout ratio is currently 216.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in Saul Centers by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Saul Centers by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC now owns 31,234 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,065,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Saul Centers by 3.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Saul Centers by 7.6% in the second 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 period. Institutional investors own 49.99% of the company’s stock.

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.