Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) Short Interest Up 6.2% in June

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 97,600 shares, an increase of 6.2% from the May 31st total of 91,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 53,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saul Centers

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 4.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,813 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,477 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in Saul Centers by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 14,891 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $573,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Saul Centers during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,293,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC increased its position in Saul Centers by 72.0% during the first quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 13,930 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 5,830 shares during the period. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Saul Centers in the first quarter valued at approximately $297,000. 49.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BFS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. B. Riley began coverage on Saul Centers in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $43.50 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised Saul Centers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th.

Saul Centers Stock Down 0.7 %

BFS stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.66. 21,235 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 54,880. The stock has a market capitalization of $879.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 1.11. Saul Centers has a 52-week low of $33.56 and a 52-week high of $41.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.28. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.48.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 136.42%.

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.