Safehold (NYSE:SAFE) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Safehold Inc. (NYSE:SAFE)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $25.00 to $29.00. The stock had previously closed at $18.96, but opened at $19.43. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Safehold shares last traded at $19.00, with a volume of 129,279 shares.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Safehold in a report on Thursday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Safehold from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Safehold from $32.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded Safehold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.22.

Institutional Trading of Safehold

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strs Ohio increased its position in Safehold by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 145,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,413,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Safehold by 7.5% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Safehold by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 11,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Safehold by 49.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Safehold by 197.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.38% of the company’s stock.

Safehold Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 42.51, a current ratio of 42.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.29. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.83 and a beta of 1.66.

Safehold (NYSE:SAFE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $93.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.20 million. Safehold had a positive return on equity of 4.43% and a negative net margin of 7.87%. The company’s revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Safehold Inc. will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Safehold Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.177 dividend. This represents a $0.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Safehold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -157.78%.

About Safehold

Safehold Inc (NYSE: SAFE) is revolutionizing real estate ownership by providing a new and better way for owners to unlock the value of the land beneath their buildings. Having created the modern ground lease industry in 2017, Safehold continues to help owners of high quality multifamily, office, industrial, hospitality, student housing, life science and mixed-use properties generate higher returns with less risk.