JPMorgan Chase & Co. Grows Stock Position in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) by 56.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 86,974 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,308 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.36% of Saul Centers worth $3,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,229,000 after buying an additional 4,547 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Saul Centers by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 34,243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,329,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings 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 last quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Saul Centers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,164,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 280.0% during 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 during the last quarter. 49.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Saul Centers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Saul Centers Price Performance

Saul Centers stock opened at $32.76 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $792.82 million, a P/E ratio of 17.80 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.74. Saul Centers, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.59 and a 12-month high of $42.39.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $67.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.94 million. Saul Centers had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 17.16%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.79%.

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.