Safehold (NYSE:SAFE) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Safehold (NYSE:SAFE) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.02), FiscalAI reports. Safehold had a return on equity of 4.70% and a net margin of 26.19%. The company had revenue of $118.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.38 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Safehold’s conference call:

• Higher interest rates are disrupting transaction activity, causing greater closing uncertainty, repricing and delays across the pipeline. Third-quarter originations were $38 million, although year-to-date volume of approximately $242 million nearly doubled full-year production from 2024 and 2025.
• Safehold continues to see strong customer interest in affordable housing, where management believes ground leases can address capital gaps and support needed development. The company is also pursuing multifamily recapitalizations and developments as owners face maturing debt and higher financing costs.
• Third-quarter revenue was $118.7 million, net income was $28.8 million and EPS was $0.41, flat year over year. Growth from asset fundings and owned hotels was offset by lower Star Holdings management fees, weaker unconsolidated joint-venture earnings and higher general reserves.
• Management highlighted a relatively strong balance sheet, including $1.3 billion of available liquidity, approximately $5 billion of unencumbered assets, investment-grade ratings and no significant debt maturities until 2029. Permanent debt has an approximately 18-year weighted-average maturity at a 4.4% effective cost, which management estimates represents roughly $800 million of embedded value.
• Safehold continued repurchasing shares because management believes the stock trades at a significant discount to NAV and assigns little value to Caret, CPI-linked rent increases and the below-market debt portfolio. The company also expects future CPI look-backs and potential Caret growth to become increasingly meaningful sources of cash flow and value.

Safehold Price Performance

SAFE stock traded down $0.47 during trading on Thursday, hitting $10.30. 402,553 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 420,146. The stock has a market cap of $729.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.82. Safehold has a one year low of $10.31 and a one year high of $17.45. The company has a current ratio of 34.37, a quick ratio of 34.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.65.

Safehold Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.1770 per share. This represents a $0.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Safehold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.21%.

More Safehold News

Here are the key news stories impacting Safehold this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 revenue was $118.68 million, topping the $117.38 million consensus estimate. Quarterly earnings results
• Neutral Sentiment: On the earnings call, Safehold emphasized resilience despite rate pressure. Management also said it expects AI to become disinflationary in two to three years, a potential longer-term macro factor rather than an immediate earnings driver. Earnings call highlights AI and rate pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 EPS of $0.41 missed analyst expectations of $0.43, a shortfall that may weigh on investor sentiment. Quarterly earnings results
• Negative Sentiment: RBC cut its price target from $13 to $12 while maintaining a “sector perform” rating. The lower target signals reduced expectations, although it was still above the cited share price. RBC analyst recommendations

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robin Josephs sold 9,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.56, for a total transaction of $138,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 89,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,296,830.08. This trade represents a 9.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citizens Jmp cut Safehold from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Safehold from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Safehold from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Safehold from $17.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Safehold from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Safehold presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.00.

About Safehold

Safehold Inc (NYSE: SAFE) is a real estate investment trust that owns and manages ground leases for commercial, multifamily, and other income-producing properties. Under a ground lease, Safehold owns the land beneath a building while the property owner leases the land for a long term and retains ownership of the improvements on it.

The company’s business model is designed to provide property owners with access to capital while allowing them to maintain control of their buildings. Safehold’s ground lease investments are generally structured as long-duration leases that can support the development, acquisition, refinancing, or recapitalization of real estate assets.