Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Acquires Shares of 6,197 Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,197 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 34.7% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 12.2% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,283 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Saul Centers in the first quarter valued at about $224,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 35.2% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 14,035 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 3,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Saul Centers in the first quarter valued at about $297,000. 49.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Saul Centers Price Performance

Shares of BFS stock opened at $40.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.40. The firm has a market cap of $972.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45 and a beta of 1.10. Saul Centers, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.56 and a 12 month high of $42.19.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $66.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.54 million. Saul Centers had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 20.49%. Research analysts expect that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.82%. Saul Centers’s payout ratio 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.