Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

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

Saul Centers Price Performance

Shares of BFS opened at $39.94 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. Saul Centers has a fifty-two week low of $34.87 and a fifty-two week high of $42.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.10. The company has a market capitalization of $965.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71 and a beta of 1.11.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.91%. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 128.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BFS. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Saul Centers by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 228,474 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,401,000 after purchasing an additional 21,100 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Saul Centers by 2.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 209,840 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,715,000 after buying an additional 5,330 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in Saul Centers in the second quarter valued at about $3,272,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Saul Centers by 115.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 59,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,194,000 after acquiring an additional 31,919 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 43,083 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 6,301 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.