Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

Saul Centers Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of BFS opened at $36.88 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Saul Centers has a one year low of $34.98 and a one year high of $42.39. The company has a market cap of $891.43 million, a P/E ratio of 20.04 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.21.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.40%. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 128.26%.

Institutional Trading of Saul Centers

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 1,249.5% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,336 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Saul Centers by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Saul Centers in the 4th quarter valued at about $105,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 31.2% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,648 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 868 shares during the period. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Saul Centers during the fourth quarter worth about $179,000. 49.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.