Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) COO Acquires $90,324.00 in Stock

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) COO David Todd Pearson acquired 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $34.74 per share, with a total value of $90,324.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Saul Centers Stock Performance

NYSE BFS traded down $0.02 on Monday, hitting $34.64. 31,791 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 64,152. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.54. Saul Centers, Inc. has a 1-year low of $29.16 and a 1-year high of $35.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $33.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $849.97 million, a PE ratio of 32.68 and a beta of 0.92.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.11 million.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 15th. Saul Centers’s payout ratio is presently 222.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saul Centers in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saul Centers

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BFS. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 66,361.3% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 1,341,190 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339,172 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Saul Centers by 543.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 189,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,050,000 after acquiring an additional 160,335 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Saul Centers by 118.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 125,345 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,995,000 after acquiring an additional 68,018 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Saul Centers by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,966,888 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $62,016,000 after acquiring an additional 56,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in Saul Centers by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 740,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,332,000 after acquiring an additional 50,767 shares in the last quarter. 49.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.