Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) Position Boosted by Citadel Advisors LLC

Citadel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS - Free Report) by 84.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,421 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 17,613 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC owned 0.16% of Saul Centers worth $1,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Saul Centers by 1,249.5% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,336 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 1,237 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Saul Centers by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Saul Centers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $105,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Saul Centers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $179,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Saul Centers during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $215,000. 49.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO B Francis Saul II acquired 2,821 shares of Saul Centers stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $33.22 per share, for a total transaction of $93,713.62. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 217,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,221,928.34. This trade represents a 1.31% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 10,210 shares of company stock valued at $341,786. 56.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Saul Centers Stock Down 0.1%

BFS stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $33.78. 954 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 49,469. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $33.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.47. The company has a market cap of $817.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36 and a beta of 1.08. Saul Centers, Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.25 and a 1-year 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.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.02). Saul Centers had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 20.84%. The company had revenue of $70.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $69.76 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.99%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. Saul Centers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 160.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Saul Centers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report 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.