Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) Short Interest Up 9.0% in December

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) was the recipient of a significant 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. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 44,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 7.1% in 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 lifted its stake in Saul Centers by 280.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,932 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $878,000 after acquiring an additional 15,424 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the 3rd quarter valued at about $702,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 75.7% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 34,240 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 14,755 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 31.2% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,648 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. 49.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Saul Centers Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE BFS traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $38.80. 34,106 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 51,464. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.46. Saul Centers has a 52-week low of $34.87 and a 52-week high of $42.39. The firm has a market cap of $937.83 million, a PE ratio of 21.09 and a beta of 1.11.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

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