Saul Centers (BFS) Expected to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Key Points

• Saul Centers will report quarterly results before the open on May 7; analysts expect $0.27 EPS and $74.7M revenue, after the REIT missed last quarter's estimates (reported $0.15 EPS vs. $0.27 expected).
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 (paid Apr 30, ex-div Apr 15), implying an annualized $2.36 payout and a 6.9% yield despite a high payout ratio of 216.5%.
• Shares trade near $34 with a market cap of about $837M and a P/E of 31.35; roughly 50% of the stock is institutionally owned and analysts' consensus rating is Hold.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS - Get Free Report) is expected to announce its results before the market opens on Thursday, May 7th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.27 per share and revenue of $74.70 million for the quarter.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $71.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.15 million. Saul Centers had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 12.48%.

Saul Centers Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of BFS opened at $34.17 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $837.08 million, a P/E ratio of 31.35 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.48, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Saul Centers has a 52 week low of $29.16 and a 52 week high of $35.75.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. Saul Centers's dividend payout ratio is currently 216.51%.

Institutional Trading of Saul Centers

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 7.6% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,742 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 14,860 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 13,191 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 2.4% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 33,637 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. 49.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Saul Centers in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Saul Centers currently has an average 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.

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