Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) Stock Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Brokerages

Shares of Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.00.

RYN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Rayonier from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Rayonier from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 9th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Rayonier from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Rayonier from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Rayonier in a report on Thursday, October 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Mark Bridwell sold 5,318 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.19, for a total transaction of $107,370.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 131,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,658,235.59. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,219 shares of company stock valued at $124,088. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rayonier during the 2nd quarter valued at about $617,451,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Rayonier during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $213,574,000. Atlas FRM LLC purchased a new position in Rayonier in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $83,843,200. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Rayonier during the second quarter worth about $52,572,000. Finally, Kopernik Global Investors LLC purchased a new position in Rayonier during the 1st quarter valued at $45,086,000. 89.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rayonier Trading Up 0.9%

RYN traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $21.50. 1,976,585 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,503,636. The firm has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.08 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Rayonier has a 1 year low of $17.71 and a 1 year high of $24.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.84.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $565.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.98 million. Rayonier had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 2.69%. The company’s revenue was up 218.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Rayonier will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rayonier announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 4th that allows the company to buy back $300 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the real estate investment trust to buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Rayonier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 17th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Rayonier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 179.31%.

Rayonier Company Profile

Rayonier is a real estate investment trust focused on owning and managing timberlands in the United States. Its portfolio includes forestland in the U.S. South and Pacific Northwest, where the company grows and harvests timber. The company sells logs and other wood products to customers in industries such as lumber, pulp and paper. It also generates revenue by selling land for uses including real estate development, recreation and conservation. Rayonier traces its roots to 1926, when Rainier Pulp and Paper Company was established in Washington state.