Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

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

Separately, B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of Saul Centers from $43.50 to $45.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd.

Saul Centers Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of BFS opened at $40.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $990.49 million, a P/E ratio of 22.27 and a beta of 1.11. Saul Centers has a 12-month low of $34.87 and a 12-month high of $42.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.76%. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.26%.

Institutional Trading of Saul Centers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Saul Centers by 10.2% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 228,474 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,401,000 after purchasing an additional 21,100 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Saul Centers by 2.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 209,840 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,715,000 after purchasing an additional 5,330 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Saul Centers during the second quarter worth about $3,272,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Saul Centers by 115.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 59,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,194,000 after buying an additional 31,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Saul Centers by 17.1% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 43,083 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,808,000 after buying an additional 6,301 shares in the last quarter. 49.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.