Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 5,330 Shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) by 2.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 209,840 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 5,330 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.87% of Saul Centers worth $7,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Saul Centers in the 1st quarter worth about $1,293,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Saul Centers in the second quarter worth about $597,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its stake in Saul Centers by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 9,132 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 2,355 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Saul Centers during the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Saul Centers by 4.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,813 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,477 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of Saul Centers from $43.50 to $45.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd.

Saul Centers Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of BFS opened at $40.46 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.40. Saul Centers, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.56 and a fifty-two week high of $42.19. The firm has a market cap of $970.31 million, a PE ratio of 23.39 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.06.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.48 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $65.54 million. Saul Centers had a net margin of 20.49% and a return on equity of 16.61%. Analysts forecast that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.83%. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.