Assetmark Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) by 1,249.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,336 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,237 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Saul Centers were worth $52,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its stake in Saul Centers by 31.2% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,648 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Saul Centers during the 3rd quarter valued at $202,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Saul Centers during the 3rd quarter valued at $288,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Saul Centers by 62.8% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 8,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Saul Centers by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 8,934 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.99% of the company’s stock.

Saul Centers Stock Performance

Shares of BFS opened at $36.13 on Friday. Saul Centers, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.98 and a 52-week high of $42.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $874.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.97.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.31. Saul Centers had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 20.84%. The company had revenue of $67.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.94 million. Research analysts forecast that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 144.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Saul Centers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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.