Renaissance Technologies LLC Raises Holdings in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 279,674 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,800 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Saul Centers were worth $10,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BFS. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Saul Centers by 30.9% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 5,073 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 14,755 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 15,424 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Saul Centers by 7.1% in the 3rd 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, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 10,341 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. 49.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Saul Centers Price Performance

BFS opened at $32.75 on Thursday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.97. The firm has a market cap of $792.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80 and a beta of 0.97. Saul Centers, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.59 and a 1 year high of $42.39.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $67.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.94 million. As a group, analysts predict that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Saul Centers’s payout ratio is 144.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Saul Centers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

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.