Short Interest in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) Rises By 11.9%

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 121,500 shares, an increase of 11.9% from the July 31st total of 108,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 51,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saul Centers

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Saul Centers by 55.9% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 9,079 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 3,255 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in Saul Centers in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,272,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Saul Centers by 115.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 59,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,194,000 after purchasing an additional 31,919 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the 2nd quarter worth about $102,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Saul Centers in the second quarter valued at approximately $228,000. 49.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Saul Centers Price Performance

Shares of BFS stock traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.33. The stock had a trading volume of 2,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 52,485. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.42. The company has a market cap of $997.71 million, a P/E ratio of 23.60 and a beta of 1.11. Saul Centers has a 12-month low of $33.56 and a 12-month high of $41.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.40.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $66.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.54 million. Saul Centers had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 20.49%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Saul Centers will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.71%. Saul Centers’s payout ratio is 136.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BFS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. B. Riley raised their target price on Saul Centers from $43.50 to $45.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Saul Centers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th.

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.