Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases Shares of 22,400 Safehold Inc. (NYSE:SAFE)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Safehold Inc. (NYSE:SAFE) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 22,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $524,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in Safehold by 5.6% during the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 13,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Safehold by 197.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in shares of Safehold by 6.3% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 16,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Safehold by 66.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Safehold by 78.0% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,088 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.38% of the company’s stock.

Safehold Stock Up 2.9 %

NYSE SAFE opened at $18.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 36.61 and a quick ratio of 36.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of -23.14 and a beta of 1.46. Safehold Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.00 and a 1 year high of $29.11. The business’s 50-day moving average is $19.90 and its 200 day moving average is $19.96.

Safehold (NYSE:SAFE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $103.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.89 million. Safehold had a positive return on equity of 4.31% and a negative net margin of 15.59%. Safehold’s quarterly revenue was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($6.00) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Safehold Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Safehold Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.177 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. Safehold’s payout ratio is -87.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SAFE. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Safehold in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Safehold from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. JMP Securities began coverage on Safehold in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Safehold from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Safehold from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Safehold has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.40.

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.