Saul Centers, Inc. (BFS) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.59 on July 31st

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, June 12th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.59 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th.

Saul Centers has a payout ratio of 181.5% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect Saul Centers to earn $2.92 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 80.8%.

Saul Centers Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE BFS opened at $34.24 on Friday. Saul Centers has a twelve month low of $31.25 and a twelve month high of $42.39. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $828.64 million, a PE ratio of 18.61 and a beta of 1.09.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $70.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.76 million. Saul Centers had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 20.84%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Saul Centers will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Saul Centers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Saul Centers

In related news, CEO B Francis Saul II acquired 7,179 shares of Saul Centers stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $33.59 per share, with a total value of $241,142.61. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 214,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,207,607.84. The trade was a 3.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders purchased a total of 10,210 shares of company stock valued at $341,786 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 56.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Saul Centers

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Saul Centers by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 119,824 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,322,000 after acquiring an additional 31,722 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 39,117 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,411,000 after buying an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 152.5% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 22,477 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $811,000 after buying an additional 13,576 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Saul Centers during the 1st quarter worth approximately $392,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saul Centers during the 1st quarter worth approximately $118,000. 49.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.