Saul Centers Earnings Preview

Saul Centers (NYSE: BFS  ) will look to avoid missing estimates for the fifth consecutive quarter when its earnings are released. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Saul Centers is a real estate investment trust that is engaged in the ownership, management, and development of income-producing properties.

What analysts say:

• Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts think investors should stand pat on Saul Centers with two of three analysts rating it hold. Analysts don't like Saul Centers as much as competitor American Assets Trust overall. Six out of seven analysts rate American Assets Trust a buy compared to one of three for Saul Centers. Analysts' rating of Saul Centers has stayed constant from three months prior.
• Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $42.6 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 7.7% from the year-ago quarter.
• Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.48 per share. Estimates range from $0.44 to $0.55.

What our community says:
Most CAPS All-Stars are skeptical of BFS prospects, with 66.7% granting it an "underperform" rating. Like the All-Stars, the community is also not a fan of Saul Centers with 59.6% giving it "underperform" rating. Fools are bearish on Saul Centers, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 27 posts in the past 30 days. Saul Centers' bearish CAPS rating of one out of five stars falls short of the Fool community sentiment.

Management:
Revenue has fallen in the past two quarters.

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows net margins over the past four quarters.

Quarter	Q1	Q4	Q3	Q2
Net Margin	17.5%	19.7%	31.2%	15.9%

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