Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $29.09 and last traded at $29.09, with a volume of 78,654 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $29.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Saul Centers from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Saul Centers presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Saul Centers Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The company has a market cap of $729.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.43 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.93.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10. Saul Centers had a return on equity of 11.97% and a net margin of 11.54%. The business had revenue of $72.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.98 million.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.0%. Saul Centers’s payout ratio is presently 243.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saul Centers

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BFS. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Saul Centers by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 570,914 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,346,000 after purchasing an additional 51,504 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Saul Centers in the 2nd quarter valued at about $425,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Saul Centers in the second quarter valued at about $271,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 1,758.0% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 19,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 18,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Saul Centers in the second quarter valued at about $556,000. Institutional investors own 49.99% of the company’s stock.

Saul Centers Company Profile

Saul Centers, Inc is a self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and manages income-producing commercial real estate. The company focuses primarily on shopping centers, including grocery-anchored and neighborhood retail properties, as well as mixed-use developments that combine retail, residential and office space.

Founded in 1993, Saul Centers has built a portfolio concentrated in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area and surrounding Mid-Atlantic markets, including Maryland and Virginia.