61,812 Shares in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) Purchased by Norges Bank

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 61,812 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $2,398,000. Norges Bank owned 0.26% of Saul Centers at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BFS. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Saul Centers during the 3rd quarter worth about $202,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 30.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 21,515 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 5,073 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Saul Centers by 75.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 14,755 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 280.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Saul Centers by 7.1% during the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Saul Centers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th.

Saul Centers Trading Up 2.1 %

Saul Centers stock traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $33.43. The stock had a trading volume of 7,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 50,353. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $35.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.97. 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 market cap of $809.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17 and a beta of 0.97. Saul Centers, Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.59 and a twelve month high of $42.39.

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

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.06%. Saul Centers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.