Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) Short Interest Update

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of 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 trading volume, of 49,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Saul Centers Price Performance

NYSE:BFS opened at $36.07 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $36.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.61. The firm has a market cap of $872.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60 and a beta of 1.08. 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 one year low of $34.98 and a one year high of $42.39.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.63 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 firm had revenue of $67.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.94 million. Research analysts expect that Saul Centers will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the 4th quarter valued at about $208,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Saul Centers by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 37,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the period. Man Group plc boosted its position in Saul Centers by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 88,963 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,452,000 after purchasing an additional 3,631 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Saul Centers by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 80,467 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,122,000 after purchasing an additional 13,100 shares during the period. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Saul Centers by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 7,113 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Saul Centers Company Profile

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.