Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) Short Interest Up 27.8% in March

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 105,800 shares, an increase of 27.8% from the February 28th total of 82,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 49,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut Saul Centers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th.

Saul Centers Price Performance

BFS stock opened at $36.32 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $878.98 million, a P/E ratio of 19.74 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. Saul Centers has a 52-week low of $34.98 and a 52-week high of $42.39.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.31. Saul Centers had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 20.84%. The business had revenue of $67.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.94 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Saul Centers will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.50%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 144.79%.

Institutional Trading of Saul Centers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Saul Centers by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 681,730 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,451,000 after purchasing an additional 16,407 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Saul Centers by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 279,674 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,851,000 after buying an additional 16,800 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Saul Centers by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 140,411 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,448,000 after buying an additional 29,951 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Saul Centers by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 114,670 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,449,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Saul Centers by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,229,000 after acquiring an additional 4,547 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.99% of the company’s stock.

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.