Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 98,500 shares, a growth of 9.0% from the November 30th total of 90,400 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 44,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saul Centers

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 7.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 55,666 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,336,000 after purchasing an additional 3,708 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 280.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,932 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $878,000 after buying an additional 15,424 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in Saul Centers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $702,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Saul Centers by 75.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 34,240 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 14,755 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its position in Saul Centers by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,648 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Saul Centers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th.

Saul Centers Stock Performance

Shares of BFS stock opened at $38.80 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.46. The firm has a market cap of $937.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09 and a beta of 1.11. Saul Centers has a 1 year low of $34.87 and a 1 year high of $42.39. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Saul Centers’s payout ratio is 128.26%.

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.