Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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 Stock Down 3.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $829.97 million, a PE ratio of 18.64 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.49.

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

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 144.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saul Centers

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Saul Centers by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 8,934 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 17,121 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Saul Centers by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,029 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $855,000 after buying an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its position in Saul Centers by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 7,113 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the period. 49.99% of the stock is 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.