Short Interest in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) Increases By 5.8%

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 128,600 shares, a growth of 5.8% from the August 15th total of 121,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 48,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Saul Centers

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFS. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Saul Centers during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,272,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Saul Centers in the first quarter valued at $1,293,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Saul Centers by 115.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 59,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,194,000 after purchasing an additional 31,919 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Saul Centers in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,060,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 228,474 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,401,000 after buying an additional 21,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Saul Centers Stock Performance

BFS stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $40.47. 69,011 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 52,215. Saul Centers has a twelve month low of $33.56 and a twelve month high of $41.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $970.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.39 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.76.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.29). Saul Centers had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 20.49%. The firm had revenue of $66.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.54 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Saul Centers will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.83%. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 136.42%.

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.