Public Sector Pension Investment Board Raises Stock Position in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) by 6.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.12% of Saul Centers worth $1,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Saul Centers by 10.2% during the second 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 during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Saul Centers by 2.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 209,840 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,715,000 after buying an additional 5,330 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Saul Centers by 4.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,813 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after buying an additional 1,477 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Saul Centers during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,293,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Saul Centers during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,060,000. 49.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Saul Centers from $43.50 to $45.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd.

Saul Centers Price Performance

Shares of BFS opened at $41.47 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $994.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.97 and a beta of 1.10. Saul Centers, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.56 and a twelve month high of $42.19. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $39.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.99.

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

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.69%. 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.