Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

Separately, B. Riley began coverage on Saul Centers in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a buy rating and a $43.50 target price on the stock.

Saul Centers Stock Performance

Shares of BFS stock opened at $36.83 on Wednesday. Saul Centers has a 1-year low of $32.13 and a 1-year high of $41.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.34. The company has a market capitalization of $883.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.41.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.41%. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 136.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Saul Centers

In other news, COO David Todd Pearson bought 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $36.52 per share, for a total transaction of $83,996.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,570.08. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director James Page Lansdale sold 5,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.89, for a total transaction of $208,470.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,181.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO David Todd Pearson purchased 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $36.52 per share, with a total value of $83,996.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 6,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $226,570.08. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 56.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Saul Centers

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BFS. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Saul Centers during the 3rd quarter worth about $137,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of Saul Centers by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Saul Centers by 61.1% during the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,419 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 13,435 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Saul Centers by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Saul Centers during the 3rd quarter worth about $99,000. Institutional investors own 49.99% of the company’s stock.

About Saul Centers

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.