Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) Short Interest Update

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in 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 shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 44,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saul Centers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFS. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in Saul Centers during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,272,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Saul Centers by 115.0% during the 2nd 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 acquired a new position in Saul Centers during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,060,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Saul Centers by 149.6% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 40,512 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,700,000 after purchasing an additional 24,281 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 228,474 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,401,000 after acquiring an additional 21,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.99% of the company’s stock.

Saul Centers Stock Performance

NYSE BFS opened at $38.80 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $39.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.46. Saul Centers has a 12-month low of $34.87 and a 12-month high of $42.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $937.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09 and a beta of 1.11.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut Saul Centers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th.

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.