Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,930 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.07% of Saul Centers worth $618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Saul Centers during the 4th quarter valued at $2,398,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 86,974 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,375,000 after purchasing an additional 31,308 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Saul Centers during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,164,000. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in Saul Centers in the third quarter valued at about $702,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Saul Centers by 280.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,932 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $878,000 after purchasing an additional 15,424 shares in the last quarter. 49.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Saul Centers Stock Performance

Shares of BFS stock opened at $35.65 on Friday. Saul Centers, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.98 and a 12-month high of $42.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61. The company has a market cap of $862.77 million, a PE ratio of 19.38 and a beta of 1.08.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $67.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.94 million. Saul Centers had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 20.84%. Analysts expect that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About Saul Centers

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.