Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) reached a new 52-week high 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 Upgrades and Downgrades

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.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold”.

Saul Centers Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $920.03 million, a PE ratio of 35.37 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.54, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $34.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.24.

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

Insider Activity at Saul Centers

In other Saul Centers news, COO David Todd Pearson bought 2,600 shares of Saul Centers stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $34.74 per share, for a total transaction of $90,324.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 79,321 shares in the company, valued at $2,755,611.54. This represents a 3.39% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 51.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saul Centers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BFS. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 543.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 189,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,050,000 after buying an additional 160,335 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 118.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 125,345 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,995,000 after buying an additional 68,018 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,966,888 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $62,016,000 after buying an additional 56,758 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Saul Centers by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 740,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $23,332,000 after acquiring an additional 50,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Saul Centers by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 159,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,080,000 after acquiring an additional 38,935 shares in the last quarter. 49.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.