Saul Centers, Inc. (BFS) will raise its quarterly dividend by 1.9 percent to $0.53 per share in the first quarter of 2019. This follows a 2 percent dividend hike in the previous year.

The next dividend will be paid on January 31, 2019, to holders of record on January 17, 2019. This will mark the 5th consecutive year of dividend increases by the commercial REIT.

A new annualized dividend rate of $2.12 per share yields 4.0% at a stock price of $52.52.

Saul Centers, Inc. is a real estate investment trust headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. The company operates and manages a real estate portfolio which includes community and neighborhood shopping centers and mixed-use properties. Saul Centers has been publicly traded since August 1993 and initiated its dividend in October 1993.