11,252 Shares in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) Acquired by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,252 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $437,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC grew its holdings 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 worth $878,000 after acquiring an additional 15,424 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of 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 period. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in Saul Centers during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $702,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 buying an additional 3,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 8,298 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Saul Centers Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BFS traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $36.02. The company had a trading volume of 34,178 shares, compared to its average volume of 50,178. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Saul Centers, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.98 and a twelve month high of $42.39. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $36.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.69. The stock has a market cap of $871.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 1.08.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.94 million. On average, research analysts predict 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 6.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Saul Centers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.79%.

Saul Centers 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.