Yahoo Finance What We Learned About Saul Centers' (NYSE:BFS) CEO Compensation
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This article will reflect on the compensation paid to Bernard Saul who has served as CEO of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) since 1993. This analysis will also assess whether Saul Centers pays its CEO appropriately, considering recent earnings growth and total shareholder returns.
See our latest analysis for Saul Centers
Comparing Saul Centers, Inc.'s CEO Compensation With the industry
Our data indicates that Saul Centers, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$955m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$269k for the year to December 2019. That's a modest increase of 3.4% on the prior year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth acknowledging that the salary portion is lower, valued at US$125k.
In comparison with other companies in the industry with market capitalizations ranging from US$400m to US$1.6b, the reported median CEO total compensation was US$3.9m. This suggests that Bernard Saul is paid below the industry median. What's more, Bernard Saul holds US$9.3m worth of shares in the company in their own name, indicating that they have a lot of skin in the game.
Component | 2019 | 2018 | Proportion (2019) |
Salary | US$125k | US$125k | 47% |
Other | US$144k | US$135k | 53% |
Total Compensation | US$269k | US$260k | 100% |
Speaking on an industry level, nearly 15% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 85% is other remuneration. Saul Centers is paying a higher share of its remuneration through a salary in comparison to the overall industry. If non-salary compensation dominates total pay, it's an indicator that the executive's salary is tied to company performance.
A Look at Saul Centers, Inc.'s Growth Numbers
Earnings per share at Saul Centers, Inc. are much the same as they were three years ago, albeit with slightly higher. Revenue was pretty flat on last year.
We would argue that the lack of revenue growth in the last year is less than ideal, but it is good to see a modest EPS growth at least. It's hard to reach a conclusion about business performance right now. This may be one to watch. Historical performance can sometimes be a good indicator on what's coming up next but if you want to peer into the company's future you might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.
Has Saul Centers, Inc. Been A Good Investment?
Since shareholders would have lost about 42% over three years, some Saul Centers, Inc. investors would surely be feeling negative emotions. So shareholders would probably want the company to be lessto generous with CEO compensation.
In Summary...
As previously discussed, Bernard is compensated less than what is normal for CEOs of companies of similar size, and which belong to the same industry. But the company isn't growing and total shareholder returns have been disappointing. We're not critical of the remuneration Bernard receives, but it would be good to see improved returns to shareholders before compensation grows too much.
CEO pay is simply one of the many factors that need to be considered while examining business performance. That's why we did our research, and identified 3 warning signs for Saul Centers (of which 2 make us uncomfortable!) that you should know about in order to have a holistic understanding of the stock.
Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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