Comparing Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) and Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) and Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) are both real estate companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Lamar Advertising and Rayonier’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lamar Advertising	23.90%	54.94%	8.04%
Rayonier	7.83%	3.49%	2.37%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Lamar Advertising and Rayonier, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lamar Advertising	0	3	2	0	2.40
Rayonier	0	5	0	1	2.33

Lamar Advertising currently has a consensus target price of $160.17, indicating a potential upside of 6.51%. Rayonier has a consensus target price of $24.80, indicating a potential upside of 21.57%. Given Rayonier’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Rayonier is more favorable than Lamar Advertising.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Lamar Advertising and Rayonier”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lamar Advertising	$2.27 billion	6.74	$587.15 million	$5.48	27.44
Rayonier	$484.50 million	12.53	$474.38 million	$0.45	45.33

Lamar Advertising has higher revenue and earnings than Rayonier. Lamar Advertising is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Rayonier, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Lamar Advertising pays an annual dividend of $6.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Rayonier pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. Lamar Advertising pays out 116.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Rayonier pays out 231.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Lamar Advertising has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.8% of Lamar Advertising shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.1% of Rayonier shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.2% of Lamar Advertising shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Rayonier shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Lamar Advertising has a beta of 1.19, meaning that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rayonier has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Lamar Advertising beats Rayonier on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lamar Advertising

Lamar Advertising Company operates as an outdoor advertising company in the United States and Canada. The company owns and operates billboards, logo signs, and transit advertising displays, as well as rents space for advertising on billboards, buses, shelters, benches, logo plates, and in airport terminals. Lamar Advertising Company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

About Rayonier

Rayonier is a leading timberland real estate investment trust with assets located in some of the most productive softwood timber growing regions in the United States and New Zealand. As of December 31, 2023, Rayonier owned or leased under long-term agreements approximately 2.7 million acres of timberlands located in the U.S. South (1.85 million acres), U.S. Pacific Northwest (418,000 acres) and New Zealand (421,000 acres).