Safehold Inc. (NYSE:SAFE) Short Interest Down 14.4% in December

Safehold Inc. (NYSE:SAFE) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,320,000 shares, a decline of 14.4% from the December 15th total of 3,880,000 shares. Currently, 6.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 407,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.1 days.

Safehold Stock Performance

NYSE:SAFE traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.01. The stock had a trading volume of 315,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,754. The stock has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 37.83 and a current ratio of 37.83. Safehold has a 12-month low of $15.55 and a 12-month high of $28.80.

Safehold (NYSE:SAFE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.37. The company had revenue of $90.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.45 million. Safehold had a return on equity of 4.79% and a net margin of 32.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Safehold will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Safehold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were given a $0.177 dividend. This represents a $0.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. Safehold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SAFE shares. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price objective (down previously from $25.00) on shares of Safehold in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Safehold in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Safehold from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Safehold from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Safehold from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Safehold has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SAFE. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Safehold by 108.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Safehold by 35.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Safehold by 79.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in Safehold during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $110,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Safehold by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163 shares in the last quarter. 70.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Safehold Company Profile

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.