Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

Separately, B. Riley assumed coverage on Saul Centers in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a buy rating and a $43.50 price objective for the company.

Saul Centers Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BFS opened at $36.35 on Friday. Saul Centers has a 12-month low of $32.13 and a 12-month high of $41.04. The stock has a market cap of $871.67 million, a PE ratio of 21.01 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day moving average of $37.14 and a 200-day moving average of $37.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.34.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 136.42%.

Insider Activity at Saul Centers

In related news, CEO B Francis Saul II purchased 8,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $37.80 per share, for a total transaction of $325,080.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 146,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,545,486.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO B Francis Saul II acquired 8,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $37.80 per share, for a total transaction of $325,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 146,706 shares in the company, valued at $5,545,486.80. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO David Todd Pearson acquired 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $36.52 per share, with a total value of $83,996.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,570.08. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 56.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its position in Saul Centers by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 9,132 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 2,355 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Saul Centers by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,336 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 5,757 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 35,401 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,390,000 after buying an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 216.4% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 18,557 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 12,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 60,036 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,358,000 after buying an additional 5,382 shares in the last quarter. 49.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.