Safehold (NYSE:SAFE) Rating Lowered to "Underweight" at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan downgraded Safehold from “neutral” to “underweight” and set a $14 price target, implying 8.34% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Safehold has an average “hold” rating and a consensus price target of $16.43, based on two Buy, seven Hold, and two Sell ratings.
• Safehold reported quarterly EPS of $0.42, in line with estimates, while revenue of $114.65 million exceeded forecasts. Shares opened at $12.92, near the company’s 12-month low of $12.76.

Safehold (NYSE:SAFE - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $14.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price would indicate a potential upside of 8.34% from the stock's previous close.

SAFE has been the topic of a number of other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Safehold in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Safehold from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho decreased their target price on Safehold from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of Safehold from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Safehold in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.43.

Safehold Stock Performance

Shares of SAFE opened at $12.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $915.14 million, a P/E ratio of 7.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 1.73. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $15.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.19. The company has a current ratio of 34.37, a quick ratio of 34.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. Safehold has a 12 month low of $12.76 and a 12 month high of $17.45.

Safehold (NYSE:SAFE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42. The business had revenue of $114.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.78 million. Safehold had a return on equity of 4.76% and a net margin of 27.70%. As a group, analysts predict that Safehold will post 1.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Safehold news, Director Robin Josephs sold 9,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.56, for a total value of $138,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 89,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,296,830.08. The trade was a 9.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Safehold

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Safehold by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,938,575 shares of the company's stock worth $156,036,000 after buying an additional 200,628 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Safehold during the 2nd quarter worth about $10,529,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Safehold by 4.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 411,971 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,468,000 after acquiring an additional 16,016 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Safehold in the second quarter worth approximately $5,153,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Safehold in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,861,000. 70.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Safehold

Safehold Inc NYSE: SAFE is a real estate investment trust focused on owning and managing ground leases. Through its ground lease structure, Safehold acquires the land beneath commercial real estate properties and leases it to property owners under long-term agreements, allowing those owners to retain ownership of and operate the buildings on the sites.

The company's ground lease investments support a range of property types, including multifamily housing, office buildings, hotels, life sciences facilities, student housing, industrial properties and retail assets.

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