Rhumbline Advisers Buys 575 Shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.14% of Saul Centers worth $1,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Saul Centers by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,648 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Saul Centers in the third quarter worth $202,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Saul Centers during the third quarter worth $288,000. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Saul Centers by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 10,341 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 14,422 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 2,556 shares during the period. 49.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised Saul Centers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

Saul Centers Price Performance

Shares of BFS opened at $36.54 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.15. Saul Centers, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.98 and a 52-week high of $42.39. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $884.21 million, a PE ratio of 19.86 and a beta of 1.08.

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 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 company had revenue of $67.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.94 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Saul Centers

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.