Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,782 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 730 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned 0.16% of Saul Centers worth $1,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BFS. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,164,000. Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Saul Centers by 315.0% during the third quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 25,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 18,976 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in Saul Centers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $702,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Saul Centers by 280.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,932 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $878,000 after purchasing an additional 15,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $1,437,000 after purchasing an additional 14,755 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Saul Centers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Saul Centers Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BFS opened at $37.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $905.32 million, a P/E ratio of 20.36 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.20. Saul Centers, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.98 and a twelve month high of $42.39.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.31. Saul Centers had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 17.16%. The company had revenue of $67.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.94 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.30%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.