GAMMA Investing LLC Grows Stake in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS - Free Report) by 5,187.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,306 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 9,130 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Saul Centers were worth $336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BFS. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 1,249.5% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,336 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the fourth quarter worth about $105,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the fourth quarter worth about $179,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the fourth quarter worth about $208,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.99% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO B Francis Saul II acquired 2,821 shares of Saul Centers stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $33.22 per share, with a total value of $93,713.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 217,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,221,928.34. This trade represents a 1.31% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 10,210 shares of company stock valued at $341,786. Corporate insiders own 56.57% of the company's stock.

Saul Centers Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:BFS traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $34.57. 137,047 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 50,133. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.74. The company has a market cap of $836.59 million, a PE ratio of 23.52 and a beta of 1.09. Saul Centers, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.25 and a 12 month high of $42.39.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $70.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.76 million. Saul Centers had a return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 17.09%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Saul Centers's payout ratio is presently 160.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Saul Centers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Saul Centers 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.