Saul Centers, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.59 (NYSE:BFS)

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 5th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.59 per share by the real estate investment trust on Friday, January 31st. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.47%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th.

Saul Centers has increased its dividend payment by an average of 16.5% per year over the last three years. Saul Centers has a dividend payout ratio of 181.5% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities 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 2.7 %

NYSE:BFS opened at $36.49 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $39.63 and its 200-day moving average is $39.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61. Saul Centers has a 12 month low of $34.87 and a 12 month high of $42.39. The firm has a market cap of $882.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83 and a beta of 1.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut Saul Centers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th.

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.