Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) Plans $0.59 Quarterly Dividend

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, June 12th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.59 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th.

Saul Centers has a dividend payout ratio of 181.5% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect Saul Centers to earn $2.92 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 80.8%.

Saul Centers Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BFS traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $34.24. 29,950 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 50,132. Saul Centers has a 12-month low of $31.25 and a 12-month high of $42.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61. The company has a market cap of $828.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61 and a beta of 1.09. The business's fifty day moving average price is $33.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.04.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.02). Saul Centers had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 20.84%. The business had revenue of $70.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $69.76 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Saul Centers will post 3.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Saul Centers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO B Francis Saul II acquired 7,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $33.59 per share, with a total value of $241,142.61. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 214,576 shares in the company, valued at $7,207,607.84. This trade represents a 3.46% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders bought a total of 10,210 shares of company stock valued at $341,786 over the last quarter. 56.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Saul Centers

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BFS. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the first quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the first quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the first quarter valued at approximately $392,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 152.5% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 22,477 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 13,576 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 2.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 39,117 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.99% of the company's stock.

Saul Centers Company Profile

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.