Zacks: Analysts Expect Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) to Announce $0.81 EPS

Analysts expect Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS – Get Rating) to announce $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Two analysts have provided estimates for Saul Centers’ earnings, with the lowest EPS estimate coming in at $0.80 and the highest estimate coming in at $0.81. Saul Centers posted earnings of $0.79 per share during the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year over year growth rate of 2.5%. The business is expected to issue its next earnings report on Monday, January 1st.

On average, analysts expect that Saul Centers will report full year earnings of $3.16 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $3.14 to $3.18. For the next fiscal year, analysts anticipate that the business will post earnings of $3.25 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $3.13 to $3.34. Zacks Investment Research’s EPS calculations are an average based on a survey of research firms that that provide coverage for Saul Centers.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BFS shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Saul Centers in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Saul Centers from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 13th. Capital One Financial restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Saul Centers in a research report on Sunday, March 13th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Saul Centers in a report on Wednesday, March 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.00.

In other news, Director H. Gregory Platts sold 1,435 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.50, for a total value of $66,727.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John E. Chapoton sold 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $79,200.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,585 shares of company stock valued at $260,853 over the last three months. 51.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BFS. Marshall Wace North America L.P. bought a new position in Saul Centers during the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Saul Centers by 66.3% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 38,386 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,972,000 after purchasing an additional 15,309 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Saul Centers in the third quarter valued at approximately $545,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Saul Centers by 49.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 3,377 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Saul Centers by 16.4% in the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 1,956 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. 51.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of NYSE:BFS traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $47.08. 563 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 46,715. Saul Centers has a 52 week low of $41.34 and a 52 week high of $56.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 2.87 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.50. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.89 and a beta of 1.07.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 15th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 13th. Saul Centers’s payout ratio is 134.12%.

Saul Centers Company Profile (Get Rating)

Saul Centers, Inc is a self-managed, self-administered equity REIT headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, which currently operates and manages a real estate portfolio of 60 properties which includes (a) 50 community and neighborhood shopping centers and seven mixed-use properties with approximately 9.8 million square feet of leasable area and (b) three land and development properties.

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