Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) Shares Sold by XML Financial LLC

XML Financial LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 24,786 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 333 shares during the quarter. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in Saul Centers were worth $962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Saul Centers during the third quarter worth $25,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its position in Saul Centers by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,648 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 19,616 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $823,000 after buying an additional 1,627 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 28,488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after buying an additional 1,651 shares during the period. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 10.9% in the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 16,941 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 1,664 shares during the last quarter. 49.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut Saul Centers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Saul Centers Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BFS opened at $36.22 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $875.44 million, a PE ratio of 19.68 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $39.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.57. Saul Centers, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.87 and a 1 year high of $42.39.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.32). Saul Centers had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 20.84%. The firm had revenue of $67.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.98 million. On average, research analysts predict that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.26%.

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.