Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $34.53 and last traded at $35.13, with a volume of 11463 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Saul Centers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Saul Centers Trading Down 3.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $834.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 0.97. 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 50 day moving average of $36.45 and a 200 day moving average of $38.54.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.31. Saul Centers had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 20.84%. The business had revenue of $67.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.94 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Saul Centers’s payout ratio is presently 144.79%.

Institutional Trading of Saul Centers

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Saul Centers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,549,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Saul Centers in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,398,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Saul Centers by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 86,974 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,375,000 after acquiring an additional 31,308 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Saul Centers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,164,000. Finally, Crossingbridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Saul Centers during the 4th quarter valued at $1,164,000. 49.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.