New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Takes $368,000 Position in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors LLC has acquired a new position in Saul Centers, Inc. during Q1, purchasing 10,212 shares valued at approximately $368,000.
• CEO B Francis Saul II increased his stake in the company by acquiring 7,179 shares, bringing his total ownership to 214,576 shares valued at over $7.2 million.
• Saul Centers announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 7.2%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 160.54%.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,212 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $368,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Saul Centers by 84.6% in the 4th quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 38,421 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,491,000 after buying an additional 17,613 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Saul Centers by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 114,670 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,449,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in Saul Centers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $208,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Saul Centers by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 80,467 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,122,000 after purchasing an additional 13,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Saul Centers by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 7,113 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. 49.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Saul Centers Price Performance

BFS traded down $0.17 during trading on Thursday, reaching $32.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,889. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.51. Saul Centers, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.25 and a 1 year high of $42.39. The company has a market cap of $798.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.83 and a beta of 1.11.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $69.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $71.39 million. Saul Centers had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 13.79%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.2%. Saul Centers's payout ratio is presently 178.79%.

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.