Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 16,231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $597,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Saul Centers at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Saul Centers in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,293,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Saul Centers in the 1st quarter valued at $297,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Saul Centers by 72.0% in the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 13,930 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 5,830 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Saul Centers during the 1st quarter worth $224,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Saul Centers by 35.2% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 14,035 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 3,651 shares in the last quarter. 49.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, B. Riley increased their price target on Saul Centers from $43.50 to $45.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd.

Saul Centers Stock Performance

Shares of BFS stock opened at $41.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. Saul Centers, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.56 and a 52 week high of $41.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $39.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.66. The company has a market capitalization of $984.70 million, a P/E ratio of 23.73 and a beta of 1.10.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $66.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.54 million. Saul Centers had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 20.49%. On average, analysts expect that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.75%. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 136.42%.

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.