Vestcor Inc Takes Position in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

Vestcor Inc bought a new position in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,777 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $418,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Saul Centers by 1,249.5% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,336 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 1,237 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Saul Centers in the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Saul Centers in the third quarter worth approximately $288,000. 49.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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Saul Centers Stock Performance

NYSE BFS traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $35.80. The company had a trading volume of 125,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,381. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.86. Saul Centers, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.98 and a fifty-two week high of $42.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61. The stock has a market cap of $866.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 1.08.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.63 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 20.84%. Equities analysts forecast that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Saul Centers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.79%.

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.