Safehold (NYSE:SAFE) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Safehold (NYSE:SAFE) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

SAFE has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Safehold from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Safehold from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Safehold in a report on Monday, December 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Safehold from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Safehold in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.33.

Safehold Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SAFE opened at $13.95 on Wednesday. Safehold has a 1 year low of $12.76 and a 1 year high of $19.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.80. The company’s 50-day moving average is $14.98 and its 200 day moving average is $14.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 34.97 and a quick ratio of 34.97.

Safehold (NYSE:SAFE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $97.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $96.71 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Safehold will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Safehold Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.177 dividend. This represents a $0.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Safehold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.38%.

Institutional Trading of Safehold

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SAFE. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Safehold by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 122,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,676,000 after buying an additional 30,242 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Safehold during the 4th quarter worth approximately $307,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its holdings in Safehold by 936.9% during the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 223,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,062,000 after purchasing an additional 202,106 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Safehold in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,008,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Safehold by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC now owns 46,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $640,000 after purchasing an additional 2,550 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.38% of the company’s stock.

About Safehold

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.