Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $38.42 and last traded at $37.7880, with a volume of 110102 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saul Centers in a report on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Saul Centers Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $34.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.17. The firm has a market cap of $927.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.65 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.54.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $74.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.11 million. Saul Centers had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 12.44%.

Insider Transactions at Saul Centers

In other Saul Centers news, COO David Todd Pearson purchased 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $34.74 per share, with a total value of $90,324.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 79,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,755,611.54. This represents a 3.39% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 51.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saul Centers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BFS. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Saul Centers by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 39,117 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after buying an additional 929 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Saul Centers in the 1st quarter valued at $118,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Saul Centers in the 1st quarter valued at $392,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Saul Centers by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 119,824 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,322,000 after buying an additional 31,722 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Saul Centers by 152.5% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 22,477 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $811,000 after buying an additional 13,576 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 49.99% of the company’s stock.

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.