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 note released on Wednesday morning.

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

Saul Centers Price Performance

Saul Centers stock opened at $41.11 on Wednesday. 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 price of $40.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.98. Saul Centers has a 12-month low of $34.87 and a 12-month high of $42.39. The stock has a market cap of $993.63 million, a P/E ratio of 22.34 and a beta of 1.11.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Saul Centers’s payout ratio is 128.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BFS. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 35.2% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 14,035 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 3,651 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in Saul Centers by 2.4% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 14,891 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Saul Centers by 4.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,813 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,477 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Saul Centers during the second quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 235.4% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 2,262 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.99% of the company’s stock.

Saul Centers Company Profile

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.