Safehold (NYSE:SAFE) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Safehold Inc. (NYSE:SAFE) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 697,744 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 91% from the previous session’s volume of 364,608 shares.The stock last traded at $15.17 and had previously closed at $15.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SAFE. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Safehold in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Safehold from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Safehold from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Zacks Research cut Safehold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Safehold from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.25.

Safehold Trading Down 1.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 34.97 and a current ratio of 34.97. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.51. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.50, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.84.

Safehold (NYSE:SAFE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.42. Safehold had a return on equity of 4.92% and a net margin of 29.69%.The company had revenue of $97.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $96.71 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Safehold Inc. will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Safehold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.177 per share. This represents a $0.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Safehold’s payout ratio is currently 44.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Safehold

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Safehold by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,411,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,859,000 after buying an additional 279,664 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Safehold by 92.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 163,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,533,000 after buying an additional 78,686 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Safehold during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,343,000. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Safehold by 137.4% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 486,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,534,000 after buying an additional 281,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Safehold during the 3rd quarter valued at about $984,000. 70.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Safehold Company Profile

Safehold Inc is a real estate investment trust that seeks to redefine land ownership for commercial property owners. The company acquires perpetual ground leases from landowners and structures long-term leaseback arrangements, enabling building owners to unlock the value of underlying land without relinquishing operational control of their properties. By separating land ownership from building ownership, Safehold offers an alternative to traditional mortgage financing and land sale–leaseback transactions.

Safehold’s portfolio spans multiple commercial real estate sectors, including office, multifamily, industrial and retail, with a focus on high-quality properties in major U.S.