David Todd Pearson Purchases 2,600 Shares of Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Stock

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) COO David Todd Pearson bought 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $34.74 per share, for a total transaction of $90,324.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 79,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,755,611.54. This trade represents a 3.39% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Saul Centers Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE BFS traded down $0.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $34.64. 31,791 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 64,152. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.54, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market cap of $849.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.68 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.82. Saul Centers, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.16 and a 12-month high of $35.75.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.13. Saul Centers had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 12.44%. The business had revenue of $74.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.11 million.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Saul Centers

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BFS. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Saul Centers by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 39,117 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Saul Centers during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Saul Centers during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $392,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Saul Centers by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 119,824 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,322,000 after acquiring an additional 31,722 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Saul Centers by 152.5% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 22,477 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $811,000 after acquiring an additional 13,576 shares during the period. 49.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated 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, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Saul Centers Company Profile

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.