Barclays PLC Increases Holdings in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS - Free Report) by 51.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,715 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 10,783 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.13% of Saul Centers worth $1,230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Saul Centers by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 55,666 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 3,708 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Saul Centers by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 34,243 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Saul Centers during the 4th quarter worth about $1,164,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.99% of the company's stock.

Saul Centers Price Performance

NYSE:BFS opened at $33.44 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $34.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.26. Saul Centers, Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.59 and a 1-year high of $42.39. The firm has a market cap of $809.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 1.08.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $68.94 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.06%. Saul Centers's payout ratio is 144.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded 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.

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