GAMMA Investing LLC Raises Stock Position in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) by 5,187.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,306 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,130 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Saul Centers were worth $336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in Saul Centers in the fourth quarter worth about $208,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 37,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the period. Man Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 88,963 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,452,000 after buying an additional 3,631 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 80,467 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,122,000 after buying an additional 13,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its position in Saul Centers by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 7,113 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the period. 49.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO B Francis Saul II bought 2,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $33.22 per share, with a total value of $93,713.62. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 217,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,221,928.34. This represents a 1.31% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 10,210 shares of company stock worth $341,786. Company insiders own 56.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Saul Centers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Saul Centers Price Performance

Shares of Saul Centers stock opened at $34.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $836.59 million, a P/E ratio of 23.52 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $33.53 and its 200 day moving average is $35.82. Saul Centers, Inc. has a one year low of $31.25 and a one year high of $42.39.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.02). Saul Centers had a return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 17.09%. The company had revenue of $70.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.76 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio is 160.54%.

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.