Norges Bank Makes New $2.40 Million Investment in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 61,812 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,398,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.26% of Saul Centers at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Saul Centers by 1,249.5% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,336 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 1,237 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position 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 worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Saul Centers in the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in Saul Centers by 62.8% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 8,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. 49.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Saul Centers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Saul Centers Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:BFS opened at $32.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Saul Centers, Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.59 and a 1-year high of $42.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.85 and a 200 day moving average of $38.11. The firm has a market cap of $793.67 million, a PE ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 0.97.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $67.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.94 million. Saul Centers had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 17.16%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Saul Centers’s payout ratio is 144.79%.

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.