Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Saul Centers Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of BFS stock opened at $36.13 on Friday. Saul Centers has a 1-year low of $34.98 and a 1-year 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 market cap of $874.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.99 and a 200-day moving average of $39.13.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $67.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.94 million. Saul Centers had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 17.16%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Saul Centers will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BFS. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Saul Centers by 9.0% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 19,616 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Saul Centers by 149.6% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 40,512 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,700,000 after buying an additional 24,281 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 43,083 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 6,301 shares in the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Saul Centers by 315.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 25,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 18,976 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 21.5% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 14,422 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 2,556 shares during the period. 49.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.