Saul Centers, Inc. is a self-managed, self-administered equity REIT headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, which currently operates and manages a real estate portfolio of 60 properties which includes (a) 50 community and neighborhood shopping centers and seven mixed-use properties with approximately 9.8 million square feet of leasable area and (b) three land and development properties. Approximately 85% of the Saul Centers' property operating income is generated by properties in the metropolitan Washington, DC/Baltimore area.
Saul Centers Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:BFS traded up $1.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $50.32. 25,107 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 31,383. Saul Centers has a 52-week low of $41.73 and a 52-week high of $56.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.70 and a 200-day moving average of $48.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.43 and a beta of 1.05.
Saul Centers Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 29th. Investors of record on Friday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a boost from Saul Centers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 14th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.69%. Saul Centers's dividend payout ratio is 138.01%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts have recently commented on BFS shares. StockNews.com cut Saul Centers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. B. Riley cut Saul Centers from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $53.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 9th. They noted that the move was a valuation call.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CEO B Francis Saul II acquired 1,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $48.18 per share, with a total value of $60,225.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 79,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,823,179.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 51.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.